HISTORY
of the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
of LATTER-DAY SAINTS
An Introduction and Notes
by B. H. Roberts
Seven Volumes
Volume I: Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter I: Joseph Smith's Birth and Lineage--The Prophet's
First Vision--"This is My Beloved Son."
Chapter II: The Visitation of Moroni--Existence of the Book
of Mormon Made Known.
Chapter III: The Nephite Record Delivered to Joseph--The
Angel's Warning--The Work of Translation.
Chapter IV: Oliver Cowdery Becomes the Prophet's Scribe--The
Translation of the Plates Continued.
Chapter V: Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood--First
Baptisms.
Chapter VI: The Testimony of the Especial Witnesses to the
Book of Mormon.
Chapter VII: The Day Appointed for Organizing the
Church--Revelation on Church Government.
Chapter VIII: The Book of Mormon Published--The Church
Organized.
Chapter IX: The Commencement of the Public Ministry of the
Church.
Chapter X: Further Molestation at Colesville by Mobs--The
Revelation Embodying the Vision of Moses.
Chapter XI: Further Light Respecting the Sacrament--Prophet's
Removal to Fayette.
Chapter XII: Lost Books of Ancient Scripture--Commandment to
the Church in New York to Move to Ohio.
Chapter XIII: Prospects of the Church at the Opening of the
Year 1831--Removal of the Prophet Joseph Smith
from New York to Ohio--Doctrinal Development
Chapter XIV: Effort to Overwhelm the Church by
Falsehood--Sundry Revelations Leading to
Doctrinal Development.
Chapter XV: The Important Conference of June 3rd-6th--Arrival
of the Elders in Western Missouri.
Chapter XVI: The Founding of Zion.
Chapter XVII: The Apostasy of Ezra Booth--Preparations for
Publishing the Book of Commandments.
Chapter XVIII: The Amherst Conference--The Vision of the Degrees
of Glory in Man's Future Life.
Chapter XIX: Mob Violence at Hiram--The Second Journey of the
Prophet to Zion, and Return to Kirtland.
Chapter XX: "The Evening and Morning Star"
Chapter XXI: Larger Views of the Doctrine of Priesthood
Revealed--The Meeting of The Prophet Joseph
Smith, Jun., Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball.
Chapter XXII: The Prophecy on the War of the Rebellion--The
Olive Leaf--Communication to Mr. Seaton--Warning
to Zion.
Chapter XXIII: The Enjoyment of Spiritual Blessings in the
Church--The Word of Wisdom.
Chapter XXIV: Kirtland to be a Stake of Zion--Regulation of
Church Affairs in Missouri
Chapter XXV: Preparations for Building the Kirtland
Temple--Trial and Excommunication of "Doctor"
Philastus Hurlburt.
Chapter XXVI: The Plat of the City of Zion--Its
Temples--Correspondence on Affairs in Zion and
Eugene.
Chapter XXVII: Preparation of the Mob in Jackson County to
Resort to Violence--Important Excerpts from the
"Star."
Chapter XXVIII: Mob Violence in the Land of Zion.
Chapter XXIX: Minor Events in Zion and Kirtland--An Appeal to
the Governor of Missouri.
Chapter XXX: The Prophet's Mission to Canada.
Chapter XXXI: Expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County.
Chapter XXXII: Remembrance of Canada Saints--Correspondence and
Petition Relative to Missouri Affairs.
Chapter XXXIII: The Prophet's Sympathy for the Exiled
Saints--Reasons for Their Expulsion from Zion.
Chapter XXXIV: A Press Established at Kirtland--Blessing Upon
the Prophet's Family--Responsibility for Lawless
Acts in Missouri.
Chapter XXXV: Important Correspondence on Jackson County
Affairs, Chiefly Between Leading Officials of the
Church in Zion and State Officials of
Missouri.
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Period I.
History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Himself
An Introduction and Notes by B. H. Roberts
PREFACE.
In publishing the HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY
SAINTS, it is felt that a solemn duty is being performed to the Saints and
to the world. The events which make up the history of the Church in this
age are the most important that history can chronicle. It is due
therefore both to the Saints themselves and to the world that a faithful
and complete history of the facts in which the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints had its origin, together with the events through which
it was subsequently developed, and all the circumstances, experiences and
trials through which it passed be made known to mankind. It is important,
too, that so far as possible the events which make up the history be
related by the persons who witnessed them, since such statements give the
reader testimony of the facts at first hand; and there is placed on record
at the same time the highest order of historical evidence of the truth of
what is stated. It was these considerations which induced the Church
authorities, under whose auspices this history is published, to take the
narrative of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as found in the manuscript History
of the Church--now in the archives of the Historian's office--for the body
of the work, rather than to authorize the writing of a history in the
ordinary way. The editors of the work are not oblivious to the fact that
to proceed in the manner followed in these volumes has its disadvantages;
that it renders it impossible to correlate the facts, and give unity to
the work; that it makes the body of the work more of the nature of annals
than of history; with the accompanying result that the conclusion of an
event, or even a series of events, is frequently postponed indefinitely,
and each reader is left to be his own "philosopher of history" while
perusing these pages; that is, to form his own conclusions upon the data
here presented to him. To overcome, at least in some small degree, the
obvious disadvantages of the style in which it has been determined to
publish this history, marginal notes relating to important matters are
given, which, while it is not claimed that they overcome the difficulties
of the annalistic style of the main body of the work, will nevertheless,
be of great service to the reader both in this respect and also in here
and there enlarging upon the Prophet's narrative where that narrative does
not include all the facts known upon the subject.
From the first the Prophet Joseph Smith had a clear apprehension of
the importance of keeping a faithful record of the events connected with
the great work which God was bringing forth through his instrumentality;
and it is to his appreciation of the importance of that fact, and his
never tiring energy respecting it, that we are indebted for the minute
completeness of our Church annals. While the very rapidity with which
events happened, together with the quickly changing circumstances through
which the purposes of God were unfolded in the great Dispensation of the
fulness of Times, necessarily occupied the time of the Prophet, and well
nigh made it impossible for him to give all the attention to the making of
annals that is necessary to such work, still he quite thoroughly
supervised the writing of his history, with the result that more complete
historical data have been written and preserved respecting the coming
forth of the work of God in these last days than any other great movement
whatsoever.
One difficulty the Prophet experienced in writing the annals of the
Church, which he usually called his history, was the unfaithfulness of
some whom he employed in this service, and the frequent change of
historians, owing to the ever shifting conditions surrounding the Church
in the early years of its existence. It would be marvelous indeed if
under all these circumstances there had been no mistakes made in our
annals, no conflict of dates, no errors in the relation of events. But
whether these conditions are taken into account or not, the manuscript
annals of the Church are astonishingly free from errors of dates, relation
of facts, or anachronisms of every description. When the Church
historians George A. Smith and Wilford Woodruff completed their
publication of the History of Joseph Smith, down to the 8th of August,
1844, which history was published in installments in the Deseret News,
Utah, and in the Millennial Star, England, they expressed themselves upon
the correctness of what they had published in the following manner:
"The History of Joseph Smith is now before the world, and we are
satisfied that a history more correct in its details than this was never
published. To have it strictly correct, the greatest possible pains have
been taken by the historians and clerks engaged in the work. They were
eye and ear witnesses of nearly all the transactions recorded in this
history, most of which were reported as they transpired, and, where they
were not personally present, they have had access to those who were.
Moreover, since the death of the Prophet Joseph, the history has been
carefully revised under the strict inspection of President Brigham Young,
and approved by him, We, therefore, hereby bear our testimony to all the
world, unto whom these words shall come, that the History of Joseph Smith
is true, and is one of the most authentic histories ever written."
Their statement assuredly is true; and yet by a careful revision of
the work they did, and the correction of a few errors in dates and other
details, the work has been brought to a still higher state of perfection.
Where grammatical accuracy was violated in the original record it has been
corrected, so far as observed; but no historical or doctrinal statement
has been changed. Some changes will be observed in the matter of the
biographies of the leading elders of the early days of the Church. When a
man of prominence connected himself with the Church, the Prophet Joseph
usually gave a biographical sketch of him in his own history, then
writing; and sometimes these biographies were long and unduly interrupted
the movement of events. To rid the body of the work of this incumbrance
it was decided to place all biographical matter in marginal notes; this
made it necessary to condense very much those found in the Prophet's
narrative, while severe brevity--after accuracy--has been the aim in those
prepared by the annotator.
The most careful attention has been given to this work by those
engaged in its preparation. The manuscript has been read to the Church
Historian, President Anthon H. Lund, with constant reference to the
original manuscript history and all copies of it published in the Times
and Seasons and the Millennial Star; and also to various editions of the
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Commandments published at
Independence, Missouri, in 1833, where the revelations received by the
Prophet Joseph Smith are contained. In the course of this work slight
variations in phraseology were discovered in the several editions of the
Doctrine and Covenants, that doubtless arose through careless proof
reading; and as between the most carefully proof-read editions and the
revelations found in the manuscript History of the Church there were some
slight differences, which were corrected to agree with the original
manuscript; but the corrections were never made until first submitted to
the First Presidency, and carefully considered and approved by them. We
therefore feel that this great care has resulted in presenting to the
Church and to the world the revelations which the Prophet Joseph Smith
received in their most perfect form; and that a standard is created for
all future publication of these revelations. Speaking of the revelations
that appear in this book, it is proper to remark that one of the chief
values of this volume of the History of the Church will arise from the
fact that the greater number of those revelations received by the Prophet
Joseph Smith is published in it--one hundred and one, out of a hundred and
thirty-three found in the Doctrine and Covenants; and as they are
published in connection with the circumstances existing when brought
forth, the student of the doctrines of the Church will find this volume of
almost incalculable benefit to him.
In the Introduction it is believed the reader will find a fitting
background from which are projected with majestic boldness the great
events and splendid doctrines of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
That dispensation, of which this history is but the chronicle, bears an
important relation to all former dispensations since the world began. It
is the ocean into which they as streams flow. It is their complement, and
unifying force--it makes them all one; and demonstrates that while things
to men appear but in parts, God forever stands in the presence of the
whole, and dispenses His providences with reference to His perfect
comprehension of the end from the beginning. It is to exhibit this
relation of dispensations that the Introduction is written, and the
importance of the subject must be the apology for its length.
INTRODUCTION
ANTIQUITY OF THE GOSPEL
THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS is
also the history of the opening and progress of the Dispensation of the
Fulness of Times; and as that dispensation bears an important relation to
all dispensations which have preceded it, let us here ascertain in what
that relation consists. By doing so we shall have a better appreciation
of the full import of those events which make up the history of the
Church.
A dispensation, without reference to any specific application or
limitation of the term, is the act of dealing out or distributing, such as
the dispensation of justice by courts, the dispensation of blessings or
afflictions by the hand of Providence. Theologically a dispensation is
defined as one of the several systems or bodies of law in which at
different periods God has revealed his mind and will to man, such as the
Patriarchal Dispensation, the Mosaic Dispensation, or the Christian
Dispensation. The word is also sometimes applied to the periods of time
during which the said laws obtain. That is, the period from Adam to Noah
is usually called the Patriarchal Dispensation. From Noah to the calling
of Abraham, the Noachian Dispensation; and from Abraham to the calling of
Moses, the Abrahamic Dispensation. But the word dispensation as connected
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ means the opening of the heavens to men;
the giving out or dispensing to them the word of God; the revealing to men
in whole or the part the principles and ordinances of the Gospel; the
conferring of divine authority upon certain chosen ones, by which they are
empowered to act in the name, that is, in the authority of God, and for
Him. That is a dispensation as relating to the Gospel; and the
Dispensation of the Fulness of Times is the dispensation which includes
all others and gathers to itself all things which bear any relation
whatsoever to the work of God. Also it is the last dispensation, the one
in which will be gathered together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him. It is the
dispensation which will see fulfilled all the decrees of God respecting
the salvation of men and the redemption of the earth itself; and bears
such relation to all other dispensations of the Gospel as the ocean does
to all earth's streams. It receives and unites them all in itself.
That there have been many dispensations of the Gospel, many times
that divine authority has been conferred upon men, is apparent from the
Scripture narrative of such events. And yet, strange as it may seem, in
the face of such Scripture narratives, there are those among professing
Christians who hold that the Gospel had no earlier origin than the time of
Messiah's ministry in the flesh. As a matter of fact, however, the Gospel
of Jesus Christ has existed from the very earliest ages of the world.
There are, indeed, certain passages of Scripture which lead us to believe
that even before the earth was made or ever man was placed upon it, the
Gospel had been formulated and was understood by the spirits which
inhabited the kingdom of the Father; and who, in course of time, would be
blessed with a probation on the earth--an earth-life. If this be not
true, of what significance is the Scripture which speaks of Jesus as the
Lamb ordained before the foundation of the world, but revealed in this day
for the salvation of man? What of the "Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world"? And further: "They that dwell on the earth shall wonder,
whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of
the world." "Where wast thou," asked the Lord of Job, "when I laid the
foundations of the earth? * * * When the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy?" There is evidence in these
expressions found in Scripture that before the foundations of the earth
were laid the sacrifice necessary to the redemption of men was understood,
and the "Lamb" for the sacrifice was chosen, Jesus, the Messiah. There is
evidence in these expressions from Scripture of the pre-existence of the
spirits of men, and the names of some of them at least were written in the
"Book of Life" from the foundation of the world, and it is not unlikely
that the shouting of all the sons of God for joy at the creation of the
earth was in consequence of the prospects which opened before them because
of the earth-life and the salvation that would come to them through the
Gospel--even in the prospects of that "eternal life, which God that cannot
lie promised before the world began."
The Gospel Revealed to Adam.
The Gospel, then, is of great antiquity. Older than the hills, older
than the earth; for in the heavenly kingdom was it formulated before the
foundations of the earth were laid. Nor were men left in ignorance of the
plan of their redemption until the coming of the Messiah in the flesh.
From the first that plan was known. Our annals are imperfect on that
head, doubtless, but enough exists even in the Jewish scriptures to
indicate the existence of a knowledge of the fact of the Atonement and of
the redemption of man through that means. Abel, the son of Adam, is the
first we read of in the Jewish scriptures as offering "the firstlings of
his flock" as a sacrifice unto God. How came he to offer sacrifice of the
firstlings of his flock? Doubtless behind Abel's sacrifice, as behind
similar offerings in subsequent ages, stood the fact of the Christ's
Atonement. In it was figured forth the means of man's
redemption--through a sacrifice, and that the sacrifice of the first-born.
But where learned Abel to offer sacrifice if not from his father Adam? It
is reasonably certain that Adam as well as Abel offered sacrifices, in
like manner and for the same intent; and to Adam, though the Jewish
scriptures are silent respecting it, God must have revealed both the
necessity of offering sacrifice and the great thing of which it was but
the symbol. And here, to some advantage, may be quoted a passage from the
writings of Moses, as revealed to Joseph Smith, in December, 1830. From
what was then made known to the great latter-day Prophet of the writings
of Moses, it appears that our book of Genesis does not contain all that
was revealed to Moses respecting the revelations of God to Adam and his
children of the first generation. According to this more complete account
of the revelation to Moses, after Adam was driven from Eden, God gave
commandments both to him and his wife, that they should worship the Lord
their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering
unto the Lord, and Adam was obedient unto the commandment:
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam,
saying: Why doest thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord; And Adam said
unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And the angel
spake, saying; This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the
Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son,
and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son
forevermore.
After some time elapsed and men multiplied in the earth and
wickedness increased; after Abel, the righteous, was slain and Cain was a
vagabond in the earth for the murder; after Lamech had also become a
murderer and Satan had great power among the disobedient--then, it is
written:
And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the
wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made; for they would not
hearken unto His voice, nor believe on His Only Begotten son, even
Him whom He declared should come in the meridian of time, who was
prepared from before the foundation of the world. And thus the
Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by
holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by His own
voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost. And thus all things were
confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached,
and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the
end thereof.
Establishment of the Ancient Church.
As the Gospel was thus preached there were those among the children
of Adam who obeyed it, and a record of those men was kept, and they
constituted the ancient Church of God. Enoch was of the number of
righteous ones, and a preacher of righteousness. In these revealed
writings of Moses he is represented in the course of his ministry as
referring to the manner in which the Gospel was taught to Adam:
And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are, and by his
fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold
Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to
worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and
are shut out from the presence of God. But God hath made known unto
our fathers that all men must repent. And He called upon our father
Adam by His own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men
before they were in the flesh. And He also said unto him: If thou
wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent
of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the
name of mine Only Begotten son, who is full of grace and truth, which
is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven,
whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in His name,
and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
Adam was obedient to the commandments of the Lord, and taught them to
his children, many of whom believed them, obeyed, and became the sons of
God.
Enoch, we are told, "walked with God: and he was not; for God took
him." Paul, in speaking of him, says: "By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had
translated him." But the writings of Moses, as revealed to Joseph Smith,
and from which I have been quoting, give information that not only was
Enoch translated but the Saints inhabiting his city, into which he had
gathered his people, and this city was called Zion; "And it came to pass
that Zion was not, for God received it up into His own bosom; and from
thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled."
The Gospel versus the Law.
Thus the Gospel was taught to the ancients. Noah was a preacher of
it as well as Enoch. So, too, was Melchizedek, priest of the Most High
God, King of Salem, who met Abraham in his day and blessed him. Paul,
the Apostle of the Gentiles, bears unmistakable testimony to the fact that
the Gospel was preached unto Abraham; and also that it was offered to
Israel under Moses before "the law of carnal commandments" was given. "I
would not that ye should be ignorant," he says, "how that all our fathers
were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same
spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank
of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ."
Referring again to the fact of the presentation of the Gospel to
ancient Israel, Paul says that the Gospel was preached unto ancient
Israel, as well as unto Israel in his day; but the preaching of the Gospel
to ancient Israel was not profitable to them, because they received it not
in faith, and as a result displeased God by their unbelief, and the
rebellious perished in the wilderness.
Paul's great controversy with the Christian Jews was in relation to
the superiority of the Gospel to the law of Moses. Many of the Christian
Jews while accepting Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, still held
to the law with something like superstitious reverence, and could not be
persuaded that the Gospel superseded the law, and was, in fact, a
fulfillment of all its types and symbols. This controversy culminated in
Paul's now celebrated letter to the Galatians, wherein he says:
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto
Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. * * * * Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to
seeds, as of many: but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ.
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God
in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. * *
* * Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. * * *
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are
no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus.
From Moses to John the Baptist and Messiah
In greater clearness, however, than in these sayings of Paul gathered
up from his writings like scattered rays of light from a prism's
reflection, the antiquity of the Gospel, as far as it concerns ancient
Israel, is stated in a revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith. And
not only the antiquity of the Gospel, but in greater clearness also is
stated the reasons why, after the Gospel was first preached to ancient
Israel, the law of carnal commandments was "added" to the Gospel, or given
in its place, to act as a schoolmaster to bring Israel unto Christ. And
by the knowledge imparted in that revelation the time between the Mosaic
dispensation and the coming of John the Baptist, to prepare the way for
the coming of the Christ, is spanned by a statement so rational, that the
truth of it cannot be reasonably questioned.
Speaking of the Melchizedek Priesthood and its powers in
administering the ordinances of the Gospel, and how it came to disappear
as an organization in Israel, the passage in question says:
This greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the
key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of
God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is
manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of
the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in
the flesh: for without this no man can see the face of God, even the
Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of
Israel in the wilderness and sought diligently to sanctify his people
that they might behold the face of God; but they hardened their
hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his
wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should
not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the
fulness of his glory. Therefore he took Moses out of their midst,
and the Holy Priesthood also; and the lesser Priesthood continued,
which Priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the
preparatory Gospel; which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of
baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal
commandments, which the Lord in his wrath, caused to continue with
the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God
raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb;
for he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was
ordained by the angel of God at the when he was eight days old unto
this power to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight
the way of the Lord before the fate of his people, to prepare them
for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.
As before remarked, this passage spans the interval of time between
Moses and John the Baptist, and gives a fuller explanation than can be
found in the writings of Paul or elsewhere, for the reason why and in what
manner the law supplanted the Gospel; and what measure of the Priesthood
remained with Israel unto the coming of John; in what the mission of John
consisted, and in what manner he was qualified to fulfil that mission.
It should be remarked, however, that while the Lord took Moses out of
the midst of ancient Israel, and the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood also, as
an institution, as an organization, it is evident that subsequently
special dispensations of that Priesthood were given to individual
prophets, such as Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel: for these men exercised powers and enjoyed privileges which
belong exclusively to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
The Dispensation of the Meridian of Time.
With the period between Moses and John the Baptist spanned, we come
to the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. This dispensation begins
with the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness. It was made
glorious by the personal ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God; by
His suffering and death, for the redemption of mankind; by His glorious
resurrection from the dead; by His subsequent ministry among His
followers, and His final ascension into heaven to the throne of His
Father; by the faithful ministry of His Apostles, by whom the good tidings
of man's salvation were published to the world: by the establishment of
the Church as the agency through which the Gospel was to be more widely
proclaimed, and those who accepted the Gospel were more thoroughly
instructed in its doctrines, guarded from error, and finally perfected in
the Christian life. An inspired volume of Scripture, the New Testament,
was also brought into existence, from the teachings of the inspired
Apostles, in which the great fundamental truths of the Gospel were
embodied and cast in a form that would be enduring, and to which men could
appeal through all the ages to come, as an authoritative statement, not
only of what Jesus said and what He did, but also a statement of what
doctrines are to be believed; what precepts to be practiced; what
ordinances to be observed. By thus embodying the chief doctrines of
Christ in a volume of Scripture that should live forever, and be published
in all the languages of the world, provision was made for such a
dissemination of the knowledge of God, that the world would never again be
wholly without that knowledge; and though the Church might become
corrupted, as it afterwards did; though men ambitious of distinction and
power might usurp authority and establish churches, in which they taught
for doctrines the commandments of men, as they certainly did; still in
this volume of Scripture men henceforth would have at hand a standard of
truth by which to test the utterances of would-be teachers, while at the
same time it would keep above the horizon of a world's knowledge the great
truths of the Gospel--the existence and character of God; the
manifestation of Him through the person and character of Jesus of
Nazareth; the relationship existing between God and man; the fall of men;
and the redemption provided for him in the atonement of Jesus Christ. All
this was achieved in the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time; a mighty
work accomplished by the Son of God and His associates; a work sealed not
only by the blood of Jesus Christ, but by the blood also of many faithful
witnesses, which shall make their testimony of force in the world.
The Identity of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time and the
Dispensation of the Fulness of Times Considered.
At this point we are confronted with a question that must be settled
before progress is possible with this Introduction. Owing to the
phraseology of certain passages of Scripture, making reference to the
coming of Messiah in the flesh, and to the work of God in those days, the
Dispensation of the Meridian of Time is mistaken for the Dispensation of
the Fulness of Times. In Mark's Gospel, for instance, John the Baptist is
represented as saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is
at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." The words in Italics are
usually understood to make reference to the Dispensation of the Fulness of
Times. Again it is written: "But when the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law." The words, "when the fulness of the time
was come," are supposed to refer to the Dispensation of the Fulness of
Times. Other passages of Scripture referring to the days of Messiah's
personal ministry among men in the flesh, speak of them as the "last
days." Paul, in the opening sentence of his letter to the Hebrews, does
this: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us
by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things." So St. John, in
addressing the Saints in his day: "little children, it is the last time:
and as ye have heard that anti-Christ shall come, even now are there many
anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time." These, with two
other special passages of Scripture to be separately considered,
constitute the authority upon which the Meridian Dispensation is
confounded with the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. And yet all
these passages are susceptible of quite a different and more natural
rendering. Without controversy it will be conceded that the Lord had an
appointed time for His Son Jesus to come to earth in the flesh and perform
the mission that had been assigned him; to suffer; to die; to arise again
from the dead. And when the fulness of this time was come, God indeed
sent forth His Son into the world. As for those inspired writers who
speak of the "last days," and the "last times"--they speak relatively;
that is, with reference to former days and times; and, of course, the days
and times in which they lived to them were the last days, and the last
times; but they were not the last days of the earth's temporal existence;
they were not the last days in any general sense at all, as there have
been now some two thousand years of days since then. They were not the
"last days" that are understood as immediately preceding the glorious
coming of the Son of God.
Joel's Great Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days.
Of the special passages before referred to, and which I said would
receive separate consideration, the first is Peter's quotation from the
Prophet Joel concerning the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon "all
flesh in the last days." This quotation from Joel is regarded as
identifying the days in which the Apostle was speaking, as "the last
days"; and the dispensation in which he was living as the Dispensation of
the last Days and of the Fulness of Times. The conditions existing when
Peter was speaking, and the prophecy of Joel, however, admit of no such
interpretation. The circumstances were as follows: The Holy Ghost in an
extraordinary manner rested upon the Apostles and gave them the power of
speaking in other languages than those they had learned. Some in the
listening multitude attributed this singular manifestation to drunkenness,
whereupon the Apostle Peter arose and refuted the slander, saying: "These
are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the
day. But this is that which was spoken, by the Prophet Joel; and it shall
come to pass in this last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit
upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on
my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my
Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will show wonders in heaven above,
and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the
sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that
great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "For," to
finish the passage as it stands in Joel, but which is not in Peter's
quotation, "For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as
the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call."
Because Peter, referring to the Spirit that was then resting upon the
Twelve Apostles, said, "this is that which was spoken by the Prophet
Joel," etc., the very general opinion prevails that Joel's prophecy was
then fulfilled; and hence the last days were come. This is an entire
misapprehension of the purpose of Peter in making the quotation; as also
of the quoted passage itself. Beyond all controversy Peter meant only:
This Spirit which you now see resting upon these Apostles of Jesus of
Nazareth, is that same Spirit which your Prophet Joel says will, in the
last days, be poured out upon all flesh, Obviously he did not mean that
this occasion of the Apostles receiving the Holy Ghost was a complete
fulfillment of Joel's prediction. To insist upon such an exegesis would
be to charge the chief of the Apostles with palpable ignorance of the
meaning of Joel's prophecy. On the occasion in question the Holy Ghost
was poured out upon the Twelve Apostles, who were given the power to speak
in various tongues; Joel's prophecy for its complete fulfillment requires
that the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, shall be poured out upon all
flesh, and undoubtedly refers to that time which shall come in the blessed
millennium when the enmity shall not only cease between man and man, but
even between the beasts of the forests and of the fields; and between man
and beast, as described by Isaiah in the following language:
The wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the leopard shall
lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow
and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child
shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Compare these conditions so vividly described with what Joel himself
says of the period when the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out upon
all flesh, and it will at once be clear that the two Prophets are dealing
with the same period, and not only dealing with the same period, but that
the period itself is certainly far beyond, in time, the days of Peter; in
fact is still in the future; for the sun has not yet been turned into
blackness; nor the moon into blood; nor have the stars withdrawn their
shining. It is obvious that the events upon the day of Pentecost did not
fulfil the terms of this prophecy, except in those particulars already
pointed out. The mention in this prophecy, however, of those special
signs which Jesus refers to as immediately preceding His own second and
glorious coming, clearly demonstrate that Joel was speaking of the last
days indeed, and not of a circumstance that occurred in connection with a
period more properly designated as the Dispensation of the Meridian of
Time. Immediately following the prediction of the outpouring of God's
Spirit upon all flesh, Joel represents the Lord as saying: "And I will
show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes." And later: "The
sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their
shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from
Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be
the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Compare this with the Savior's description of conditions in the earth
that will precede His own second coming:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other.
The same wonders in heaven and earth; the same changes in sun and
moon, and stars; the same promises of the gathering of God's people as are
found in the prophecy of Joel. There can be no question, then, but that
the prophecy of Joel refers to the same "last days" that Jesus here
alludes to--the days of the coming of the Son of Man--and not to the days
of Peter and the other Apostles in the Meridian of time.
The sum of the matter then is, that Peter was not living in the "last
days"; that the prophecy of Joel was not in its entirety fulfilled in the
outpouring of God's Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost; that
at no time subsequent to the days of the Apostles has there existed such
conditions in the earth as amount to a complete fulfillment of Joel's
prophecy; therefore at some time future from the days of the Apostles, we
may look forward to a universal outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon all
flesh, resulting in a universal peace and widespread knowledge of God,
brought about, unquestionably, by a subsequent dispensation from that in
which Peter wrought--the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, in which
God promises to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth; even in Him."
Daniel's Prophecy of the Rise of the Kingdom of God in the Last Days.
The second special Scripture to which I have promised a separate
consideration is the prophecy of Daniel relative to the succession of the
great earth empires; and the final establishment of the Kingdom of God,
which in "the last days" shall fill the whole earth and remain for ever.
By an error on the part of Christian writers Daniel's Prophecy concerning
the Kingdom of God to be set up in "the last days" is supposed to have
been fulfilled by the founding of "The Spiritual Kingdom of Christ" in the
days of Messiah's earthly ministry; and therefore the conclusion is drawn
that those days were "the last days," and the dispensation then ushered
in, the final dispensation of the Gospel. It is my purpose here to refute
that error.
The prophecy in question is familiar, and comes from Daniel's
interpretation of the King of Babylon's dream of the great image, whose
"brightness was excellent, whose form was terrible." The head of the
image was of gold; his breast and arms were of silver; the body and thighs
of brass; the legs of iron; and the feet and the toes part of iron and
part of clay. The king in his dream also saw a little stone cut out of
the mountain without hands, that smote the image upon the feet of mixed
clay and iron, and broke it to pieces--until it became like the chaff of
the summer threshing floor, and the wind of heaven carried it away, that
no place was found for it: but the little stone cut from the mountain
without hands, which smote the image on the feet and ground it to dust,
became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This it the dream;
and this is the prophet's interpretation, addressed to the king of
Babylon:
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath
given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after
that shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of beast, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the
fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest
the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided: but there shall be in it the strength of
the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes and the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, to
the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And where
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves
with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even
as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall
the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without any hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass,
the clay, the silver, and the gold: the great God hath made known to
the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretations thereof sure.
As understood by the learned, Daniel's interpretation stands thus:
(1) The Golden Head--the Assyrio-Babylonish monarchy (the 6th and 5th
century, B.C.);
(2) The Silver breast and Arms--the Medo-Persian empire (from 538
B.C. to about 334 B.C.);
(3) The Brazen Belly and Thighs--the Greco-Macedonian kingdom,
especially after Alexander, those of Egypt and Syria (from about 330 B.C.
to 160 B.C.);
(4) The Legs of Iron--the power of Rome, bestriding the east and
west, but broken into a number of states, the ten toes, which retained
some of its warlike strength (the iron), mingled with elements of weakness
(the soft potters' clay), which rendered the whole imperial structure
unstable.
(5) The Stone cut without hands out of the Living Rock, dashing down
the image, becoming a great mountain, and filling all the earth--The
Spiritual Kingdom of Christ.
The last phrase--"The Spiritual Kingdom of Christ"--meaning of course
the "Christian churches" which have existed from the time of Christ, and
that now exist, and which, taken together, form Christ's spiritual
kingdom.
On the foregoing exegesis, which is the one commonly accepted by
orthodox Christians, I make the following several observations:
First: The phrase with reference to the little Stone, "cut out of
the Living Rock," is one introduced by Dr. Smith, from whose Old Testament
History the above analysis of Daniel's interpretation is taken. The
language of the Bible is, "cut out of the mountain without hands." Why it
is changed by the Doctor one may not conjecture, unless it is to lay the
foundation of an argument not warranted by the text of Daniel's
interpretation. It is enough here to note that the change in phraseology
is wholly gratuitous and unwarranted.
Second: The claim that the "little Stone cut from the mountain
without hands," is the "Spiritual Kingdom of Christ"--if by that
"spiritual kingdom" is meant not a real kingdom, actually existing,
visible and tangible--is an assumption of the Doctor's. It is not the
language of the Bible, nor is there any evidence in Scripture for
believing that the "kingdom," represented by "the stone cut out of the
mountain without hands," is any less a material kingdom than those which
preceded it. The differences between this kingdom of God and the other
kingdoms of the vision are not in the kingdom being "spiritual," but in
these; (1) that the kingdom which God shall set up will never be
destroyed; (2) never left to another people; (3) will break in pieces and
consume all other kingdoms; (4) it shall fill the whole earth; (5) and
stand forever. We are warranted in the belief, however, that it will be a
tangible, bona fide government of God on earth, consisting of a king;
subordinate officers; laws; subjects; and the whole earth for its
territory--for its dominion. The coming forth of such a government, the
founding of such a kingdom, is in harmony with all the hopes of all the
saints, and the predictions of all the prophets who have touched upon the
subject. It is the actual reign of Christ on earth with His Saints, in
fulfillment of the hopes held out to them in every dispensation of the
Gospel. It is to be the burden of the song of the redeemed out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, that Christ has made them
unto their God kings and priests--"and we shall reign on the earth." "It
is to be the chorus in heaven--the kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and
ever." And the elders in heaven shall say:
We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,
and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,
and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou
shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the
saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldst
destroy them which destroy the earth.
And still again:
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
It should be observed respecting the last passage and the one
preceding it, that "the reign on earth" of the kingdom of God is
connected with the resurrection of the righteous saints; so that it will
be the "last days" indeed--not in the days of the Roman empire. And this
reign of the saints on earth, this kingdom of God which they shall
constitute shall be a reign of righteousness, but a veritable kingdom
nevertheless.
Third: The orthodox exegesis under consideration omits one important
matter of fact, viz., that instead of four great dominant political powers
symbolized in the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw, and which Daniel
interpreted, there are five: viz., (1) The Head of Gold--Babylonish
Kingdom; (2) the Chest and Arms of Silver--the Medo-Persian Monarchy; (3)
the Brazen Belly and Thighs--the Greco-Macedonian Empire; (4) the Legs of
Iron--Rome; (5) the Feet and Toes Mixed of Iron and Clay--the modern
kingdoms and states of the world.
This failure to recognize the fifth political power represented by
the feet and toes of Daniel's image leads to serious errors with respect
to this prophecy. It has led the theologians to assign the setting up of
God's kingdom spoken of in the prophecy to the wrong period of the world's
history. They say the kingdom represented by the stone cut from the
mountain without hands is "the spiritual kingdom of Christ;" and that the
said kingdom was set up in the days of Messiah's earthly ministry in the
meridian of time. This, however, cannot be correct; for the Church which
Jesus established by His personal ministry and which, it is granted, is
sometimes spoken of as the Kingdom of God, was founded in the days of the
Roman empire, the fourth world power of Daniel's prophecy; and at a time,
too, when imperial Rome was at the very zenith of her glory and power.
Whereas the terms of Daniel's prophecy require that the kingdom which God
shall establish, and which was represented by the stone cut from the
mountain without hands, shall be set up in the days of the fifth political
world power--in the days of the kingdom represented by the pieces of iron
and clay in the feet and toes of the image. The language of the prophecy
on this point is: "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom [i. e. the political power so
represented, and that succeeds the fourth power or Roman empire,] shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch
as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet
were part of iron, and part of clay, * * * they [i. e., the kingdom
represented by the pieces of iron and clay,] shall mingle themselves with
the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another even as iron is
not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings [not in the days of
the Roman empire]--in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which never shall be destroyed."
Fourth: One of the peculiarities of the kingdom of God of Daniel's
prophecy is, that when it is established among men it will not only never
be destroyed, but "the kingdom shall not be left to other people." By
which saying we can only conclude that when the kingdom of God shall be
set up by the Lord in the last days, it will not be taken from the people
to whom it shall come, and be given, or left, to another people. But how
stands it with the institution which arose from the preaching of the
Gospel in the days of Messiah's earthly ministry, the church, sometimes
called the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven? Was it not "left to
other people?" Messiah himself said of the Jews, "Therefore say I unto
you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof." This passage comes, too, as a
conclusion to the parable of the householder who let both his house and
his vineyard to unworthy husbandmen, who successively beat, stoned, and
slew the servants, and even the son and heir whom the master sent to
collect his portion of the fruit of the vineyard. "When the Lord of the
vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?" asked Jesus of
his hearers. "He will miserably destroy these wicked men," they replied,
"and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render
him the fruits in their season." They had pronounced judgment upon
themselves. The parable presented the case of the Jews to whom Jesus was
speaking, exactly, and Jesus quickly made the application of the
judgment--
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from
you, and given unto a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." There
can be no mistaking the meaning of the parable or its application; and
some years later we have Paul saying to the contradicting and blaspheming
Jews of Antioch in Pisidia: "It was necessary that the word of God should
first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo we turn to the Gentiles. For
so hath the Lord commanded us." And so it came to pass that as Israel in
those days rejected the Gospel of the kingdom which was first offered to
them, so God also rejected them; and they have stood rejected to this day;
smitten and trodden under foot of the Gentile races, a scoff, a hiss, and
a byword in every land that they have inhabited: while the kingdom of God
first offered to them was left to other people, to the Gentiles, who, for
a season, brought forth the fruits thereof. But the fact that the kingdom
then preached to the Jews was taken from them and given to another people,
is proof positive that it was not the kingdom which was to fulfill the
terms of Daniel's great prophecy.
Fifth: Another characteristic of the kingdom of God of Daniel's
prophecy is, that it will never be destroyed, but will break in pieces and
consume all other kingdoms, and stand for ever. This is not true of that
institution brought into existence by the preaching of Messiah and the
Apostles, sometimes called the kingdom of God, but more properly the
Church of Christ. Saddening as the thought may seem, the Church founded
by the labors of Jesus and His Apostles was destroyed from the earth; the
Gospel was perverted; its ordinances were changed; its laws were
transgressed; its covenant was, on the part of man, broken; and the world
was left to flounder in the darkness of a long period of apostasy from
God. For the reason, then, that the institution founded by the preaching
of the Apostles was destroyed in the earth, as well as for the other
reasons considered, the conclusion is forced upon the mind that the Church
founded by Jesus and the Apostles was not the fulfillment of Daniel's
great prophecy respecting the kingdom which God promised to set up in the
last days: and hence we may look for another dispensation beyond the
times of the Apostles, which will culminate in subduing the kingdoms of
this world and making them the kingdom of our God and His Christ, followed
by that reign of righteousness and peace of which all the prophets have
spoken.
Having considered the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time and
corrected the popular error which confounds that dispensation with the
Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, it is necessary now to consider the
decline of the Christian religion.
The Announcement of the Universal Apostasy.
It is a most startling announcement with which the Prophet Joseph
Smith begins his message to the world. Concerning the question, he asked
God--"Which of all the sects is right, and which shall I join?" he says:
"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all
wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were
an abomination in His sight: that those professors were all corrupt; that
they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
they teach for doctrines the commandments of men: having a form of
godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
This is a tremendous arraignment of all Christendom. It charges a
condition of universal apostasy from God, especially upon Christendom that
was dwelling in a fancied security of being the farthest removed from the
possibility of such a charge; each division of the so-called Christian
Church felicitating itself with the flattering unction that its own
particular society possessed the enlightened fulness of the Christian
religion. While the boldness of this declaration of the young Prophet is
astounding, upon reflection it must be conceded that just such a condition
of affairs in the religious world is consistent with the work he, under
the direction of divine providence, was about to inaugurate. Nothing less
than a complete apostasy from the Christian religion would warrant the
establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of sects
there were already enough in existence. Division and subdivision had
already created of confusion more than enough, and there was no possible
excuse for the introduction of a new Christian sect. But if men through
apostasy had corrupted the Christian religion and lost divine authority to
administer the ordinances of the Gospel, it was of the utmost importance
that a new dispensation of the true Christian religion should be given to
the world. It should also be observed at this point, that Joseph Smith,
then but a boy, scarcely removed from childhood, was not himself
pronouncing judgment upon the status of Christendom. It was not he who
declared the sects to be all wrong, their creeds an abomination, and the
professors thereof corrupt. He of all persons, both on account of his
extreme youthfulness and his lack of general information, was among the
least qualified to pronounce upon such a question, indeed, he himself
confesses his unfitness for such an office. His seeking knowledge from God
upon this very question--"which of all the sects is right?" is a
confession of his own inability to determine the matter. No human wisdom
was sufficient to answer that question. No man in all the world was so
pre-eminent as to be justified in proclaiming the divine acceptance of one
church in preference to another. Divine wisdom alone was sufficient to
pass judgment upon such a question; and there is peculiar force in the
circumstance that the announcement which Joseph Smith makes with reference
to this subject is not formulated by him nor by any other man, but is
given to him of God. God has been the judge of apostate Christendom,
Joseph Smith but His messenger, to herald that judgment to the world.
It now becomes my melancholy task to trace through the early
Christian centuries the decline of the Christian religion. By this phrase
I mean that a really unChristian religion was gradually substituted for
the beautiful religion of Jesus Christ; that a universal apostasy from the
Christian doctrine and the Christian Church took place. So tracing the
decline of Christianity, I shall establish the truth of the first great
message with which the modern prophet, Joseph Smith, came to the world;
and shall also prove the fact, that a necessity existed for the
establishment of such a work as he claims, under God, to have founded, and
of which the several volumes of this work are the detailed history.
Character of the Early Christians.
First of all, it should be remarked that the early Christians were
not so far removed from the possession of the common weaknesses of
humanity as to preclude the possibility of apostatizing from the Christian
religion. Owing to our being so far removed from them in time, by which
many of their defects are obscured, and the exaggerated celebration of
their virtues, extravagant ideas of the sanctity of their lives, and the
holiness of their natures have very generally obtained, whereas a little
inquiry into the character of the early Saints will prove that they were
very human, and men of like passions with ourselves. The mother of
Zebedee's children exhibited a rather ambitious spirit, and the two
brethren themselves gave much offense to their fellow Apostles by aspiring
to sit one on the right hand of Jesus and the other on His left when He
should come in His kingdom. Even Peter, the chief Apostle, exhibited his
full share of human weakness when he thrice denied his Lord in the
presence of his enemies, through fear, and even confirmed that denial by
cursing and swearing. It was rather a heated controversy, too, that
arose in the early Christian Church as to whether those who accepted the
Christian faith were still bound to the observances of the laws of Moses,
and more especially to the rite of circumcision. Although there seems to
have been an amicable and authoritative settlement of that question by the
decision of what some learned writers have called the first general
council of the Church held by the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem, yet
the old difficulty broke out again and again, not only between the Jewish
saints and the Gentile converts, but even among the Apostles themselves,
leading to serious accusations one against another, the straining of
friendship between fellow-workmen in the ministry, through criminations
and recriminations.
After the settlement of this very question of circumcision by the
council at Jerusalem, Peter went down to Antioch and at first mingled
unreservedly with both Gentile and Jewish converts without distinction,
accepting both Jew and Gentile in perfect fellowship, departing entirely
from the restraints placed on a Jew by the law of Moses, which rendered it
unlawful for one who was a Jew to have such unrestricted fellowship with
the Gentiles. But when certain ones came down from James, who resided at
Jerusalem, then Peter, fearful of offending "them which were of the
circumcision," suddenly withdrew his social fellowship from the Gentile
converts. Other Jewish brethren did the same; Barnabas, the friend of
Paul, being among the number. Whereupon Paul, as he himself testified,
withstood Peter to the face, directly charging him before all the brethren
with dissimulation, saying: "If thou, being a Jew, livest after the
manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the
Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" Yet this same Paul notwithstanding his
loyalty to the Gentile converts on that occasion, his zeal for the
decision which had been rendered by the council of the Church at
Jerusalem, and notwithstanding his usually strong moral courage
subsequently showed, by his conduct, that he, too, was not beyond the
weakness of "becoming all things to all men;" for a short time after the
incident with Peter at Antioch, when in the province of Galatia, and he
desired Timothy to be his companion in the ministry, Paul took him and
circumcised him, because it was well known that while his mother was a
Jewess, his father was a Greek, and all this for fear of the Jews.
This question continued to be a cause of contention, even after this
sharp disputation at Antioch; for though the decision of the council at
Jerusalem was against the contention of the Judaizing party, yet they
continued to agitate the question whenever opportunity presented itself,
and seemed especially to follow close upon the footsteps of Paul in his
missionary journeys; and in Galatia, at least, succeeded in turning the
saints of that province from the grace of Christ unto another gospel,
perverting the Gospel of Christ. This question continued to agitate the
Church throughout the Apostolic age, and was finally settled through
overwhelming numbers of Gentiles being converted, and taking possession of
the Church, rather than through any profound respect for the decision of
the council at Jerusalem.
The withdrawal of John Mark from the ministry while accompanying Paul
and Barnabas on their first mission in Asia Minor, and which withdrawal
grew out of a faltering of his zeal or a misunderstanding with his
companions, will be readily called to mind. Subsequently, when Paul
proposed to Barnabas that they go again and visit the brethren in every
city where they had preached while on their first mission, a sharp
contention arose between them about this same John Mark. Barnabas desired
to take him again into the ministry, but Paul seriously objected; and so
pronounced was the quarrel between them that these two friends and fellow
yokemen in the ministry parted company no more to be united. It is just
possible also that in addition to this misunderstanding about John Mark,
the severe reproof which Paul administered to Barnabas in the affair of
dissimulation at Antioch had somewhat strained their friendship.
Turning from these misunderstandings and criminations among the
leading officers of the Church, let us inquire how it stood with the
members. The epistle of Paul to the church at Corinth discloses the fact
that there were serious schisms among them; some boasting that they were
of Paul, others that they were of Apollos, others of Cephas, and still
others of Christ; which led Paul to ask sharply, "Is Christ divided? was
Paul crucified for you?" There were endless strifes as well as divisions
among them, which caused Paul to denounce them as carnally minded. Among
them also was such fornication as was not named among the Gentiles, "that
one should have his father's wife!" And this shameful sin had not humbled
the church at Corinth, for Paul denounced them for being puffed up in the
presence of such a crime, rather than having mourned over it. They were
in the habit of going to law one with another, and that before the world,
in violation of the teachings of Jesus Christ. They desecrated the
ordinance of the Lord's Supper by their drunkenness, for which they were
sharply reproved by the Apostle. They ate and drank unworthily, "not
discerning the Lord's body: for which cause many were sickly among them,
and many slept" (that is, died). There were heresies also among them,
some denying the resurrection of the dead, while others possessed not the
knowledge of God, which the Apostle declared was their shame. It is
true, this sharp letter of reproof made the Corinthian saints sorry, and
sorry, too, after a godly fashion, in that it brought them to a partial
repentance; but even in the second epistle, from which we learn of their
partial repentance, the Apostle could still charge that there were many in
the church who had not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and
lasciviousness which they had committed. From this second letter, also,
we learn that there were many in the Church at large who corrupted the
word of God; that there were those, even in the ministry, who were "false
prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the Apostles of
Christ."
Of the churches throughout the province of Galatia, it is scarcely
necessary to say more than we have already said concerning the invasion of
that province by Judaizing Christian ministers who were turning away the
saints from the grace of Christ back to the beggarly elements of the law
of carnal commandments; a circumstance which led Paul to exclaim: "I
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that had called you unto the
grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be
some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
That there were two distinct parties in the Church at this time,
between whom bitter contentions arose, is further evidenced by the letter
of Paul to the Philippians. Some preached Christ even of envy and strife,
and some of good will. "The one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely," says Paul, "supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel."
"Beware of dogs," said he again to the same people; "beware of evil
workers; beware of the concision." "Brethren, be followers together of
me," he admonishes them, "and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an
example, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end
is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things." To the Colossians Paul found it
necessary to say: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ. * * * Let no man beguile you of your reward in a
voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things
which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind."
But it is in Paul's pastoral letters that we get a deeper insight
into corruptions threatening the early church, and even beginning to lay
the foundation for that subsequent apostasy which overwhelmed it. The
Apostle sent Timothy to the saints at Ephesus to represent him, that he
might charge some to teach no other doctrines than those which he had
delivered to them: "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies,
which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith,"
for some had turned aside from the commandment of charity, out of a pure
heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, unto "vain jangling:
desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say
nor whereof they affirm." Others concerning faith had made shipwreck, of
whom were Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Paul had delivered unto Satan that
they might learn not to blaspheme. Others had "erred concerning the
faith", and had "given heed to vain babblings, and opposition of science
falsely so called." In his second letter to Timothy, Paul informs him
that all the saints in Asia had turned away from him, "of whom were
Phygellus and Hermogenes." He admonishes Timothy again to shun "profane
and vain babblings," "for," said he, "they will increase unto more
ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a canker; of whom is
Hymenaeus and Philetus; who, concerning the truth, have erred, saying
that the resurrection is passed already, and overthrown the faith of
some." Demos, once a fellow-laborer with Paul, had forsaken him, "having
loved this present world:" and at Paul's first answer, that is, when
arraigned before the court at Rome, no man stood with him, but all men
forsook him; he prays that God will not lay this to their charge.
Paul admonished Titus to hold fast to the faith, for there were many
unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the
circumcision; who subverted whole houses, teaching things which they ought
not, for filthy lucre's sake; and were giving heed to Jewish fables and
commandments of men and turning from the truth.
Peter also had something to say with reference to the danger of
heresies and false teachers which menaced the Church. He declared that
there would be false teachers among the saints, who "privily would bring
in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction." "And many," said he, "shall follow
their pernicious ways: by reason of whom the truth shall be evil spoken
of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you; whose judgment now for a long time lingereth not, and
their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that
sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them unto chains of
darkness to be reserved unto judgment"--he argued that the Lord would not
spare these corrupters of the Gospel of Christ, who, like the dog, had
turned again to his own vomit, and the sow who was washed to her wallowing
in the mire. He charged also that some were wresting the epistles of
Paul, as they were some of the "other scriptures," unto their own
destruction.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, also bears testimony to the
existence of anti-Christs, false prophets, and the depravity of many in
the early Church. "It is the last time," said he, "and as ye have heard
that anti-Christ shall come, even now there are many anti-Christs, whereby
we know that it is the last time;" * * * * "They went out from us * * * *
that they might be manifest that they were not all of us." "Try the
spirits," said he, in the same epistle, "whether they are of God; because
many false prophets are gone out into the world." Again: "Many
deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh. This is a deceiver, an anti-Christ."
Jude also is a witness against this class of deceivers. He admonished
the saints to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints;" "for," said he, "there are certain men crept in
unawares, * * * ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
The rest of the epistle he devotes to a description of their wickedness,
comparing it with the conduct of Satan, and the vileness of the
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I have not given this review of the condition of the Church of Christ
in the Apostolic age with the view of establishing the idea that the
Church at that time was in a complete state of apostasy: nor have I dwelt
upon the weaknesses and sins of the early saints for the purpose of
holding them up for contempt. My only purpose has been to dispel, first
of all, the extravagant ideas that obtain in many minds concerning the
absolute sanctity of the early Christians: and secondly, and mainly, to
show that there were elements and tendencies existing in the early Church,
even in the days of the Apostles, that would, when unrestrained by
Apostolic authority and power, lead to its entire overthrow.
We have no good reason to believe that there occurred any change for
the better in the affairs of the Church after the demise of the Apostles,
no reason to believe that there were fewer heresies or fewer false
teachers, or false prophets to lead away the people with their vain
philosophies, their foolish babblings, and opposition of science falsely
so called. On the contrary, one is forced to believe the prediction of
Paul, viz., that evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived; for who, after the Apostles were fallen
asleep, would stand up and correct the heresies, that were brought into
the Church, rebuke the schismatics, the false teachers and false prophets
that arose to draw away disciples after them? If false teachers
insinuated themselves into the Church, brought in damnable heresies by
reason of which the way of truth was evil spoken of, and the pure religion
of Jesus Christ corrupted even while inspired Apostles were still in the
Church, it is not unreasonable to conclude that all these evils would
increase and revel unchecked after the death of the Apostles.
The Rise of False Teachers.
I cannot, of course, in this introduction, enter into even a brief
history of false teachers in the early Christian centuries. That of
itself would be matter for a volume. I shall therefore content myself
with making quotations from reliable authorities that will directly
establish the fact of the rapid increase in the number of false teachers,
and the pernicious effects of their doctrines upon the Christian religion.
It should be said before making these quotations, however, that Protestant
writers are interested in maintaining that the Christian religion was
perpetuated, even through the ages of apostasy, and given back to mankind
by the agency of the so-called "Reformation" of the sixteenth century.
Hence in their writings, when stating the corruptions of the early Church,
they are especially guarded, lest too strong a statement would lead to the
belief that the Christian religion had been utterly subverted. Indeed, it
is well known that Milner wrote his Church History which should be
regarded not so much as the history of the Church as the history of
piety--to counteract the influence of Mosheim's Institutes of
Ecclesiastical History, which work Milner considered too frank in its
statements of perversions and abuses of religion. The Protestant writers
must need set forth the theory that the Christian religion survived all
the abuses and corruptions of it through ages of apostasy, else they would
have no logical ground for the sixteenth century "Reformation" to stand
upon. They seem not oblivious to the fact, though never mentioning it,
that if the Christian religion was displaced by a paganized religion--a
false religion--as is fully predicted, as we shall see later, in the New
Testament prophecies, and of which the works of Protestant writers go far
towards proving--then the only possible way in which the true Christian
religion and the Church of Christ could be restored would be by re-opening
of the heavens, and the giving forth of a new dispensation of the Gospel,
together with a renewal of divine authority to preach it, and administer
its ordinances of salvation. Catholics hold that there has been no great
apostasy in the Church. Their theory is, that there has been a constant,
unbroken, perpetuation of the Christian Church from the days of the
Messiah and His Apostles until now; and that the Roman Catholic church is
that very Church so perpetuated through the ages. Catholic writers admit
that there have been very corrupt periods in the church and many wicked
prelates, and some vile popes; yet they hold that the church has
persisted, that the Christian religion has been preserved in the earth.
With these remarks on the position of the Protestant and Catholic
churches respecting their attitude on the subject of the perpetuation of
the Christian religion, I proceed with the quotations promised; and,
first, a passage from Neander's History of the Christian Religion and
Church, on the very great difference between the writings of the Apostles
and the writings of the so-called Apostolic Fathers; and the suddenness of
that transition, to the disparagement of the productions of the Fathers:
A phenomenon, singular in its kind, is the striking difference
between the writings of the apostles and the writings of the
Apostolic Fathers, who were so nearly their contemporaries, in other
cases, transitions are wont to be gradual; but in this instance we
observe a sudden change. There are here no gradual gradations but
all at once an abrupt transition from one style of language to
another; a phenomenon which should lead us to acknowledge the fact
of a special agency of the Divine Spirit in the souls of the
Apostles. After the time of the first extraordinary operations of
the Holy Ghost followed by the period of the free development of
human nature in Christianity; and here, as in all other cases, the
beginning must be small and feeble before the effects of Christianity
could penetrate more widely and bring fully under their influence the
great powers of the human mind. It was to be shown first, what the
divine power could effect by the foolishness of preaching. The
writings of the so-called Apostolic Fathers have unhappily, for the
most part, come down to us in a condition very little worthy of
confidence, partly because under the name of these men, so highly
venerated in the Church, writings were early forged for the purpose
of giving authority to particular opinions or principles; and partly
because their own writings which were extant became interpolated in
subservience to a Jewish hierarchical interest which aimed to crush
the free spirit of the Gospel.
There is no authority of scripture for the supposition made here by
Dr. Neander that the extraordinary operations of the Holy Ghost were to be
confined to the Apostles; the whole tenor of scripture authority is to the
contrary. It is the theory of the Gospel itself, that all who receive it,
and particularly its ministers, shall have the divine Spirit as a special
agency working in their souls, through all time, and there is no warrant
for the belief that its operations were to be confined to those who first
received it and became its first ministers. Therefore, this sudden
transition in the matter of excellence and trustworthiness between the
writings of the Apostles and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers
indicates not only a deterioration in the character of the teachers in the
Church and what is taught, but more especially indicates the progress of
the "mystery of iniquity" which was at work subverting the Christian
religion and destroying the Church of Christ.
On the question of forged books and writings mentioned in the passage
from Neander, Dr. Nathaniel Lardner refers to a dissertation written by
Dr. Mosheim, which shows the reasons and causes for the many forged
writings produced in the first and second centuries, and then adds: "All
own that Christians of all sorts were guilty of this fraud, indeed we may
say it was one great fault of the times; for truth needs no such defenses,
and would blush at the sight of them."
Eusebius, quoting Hegesippus on the subject of false teachers and
referring to the condition of the Church about the close of the first
century, says:
The Church continued until then [close of the first century] as
a pure and uncorrupt virgin, whilst if there were any at all that
attempted to pervert the sound doctrine of the saving Gospel, they
were yet skulking in dark retreats: but when the sacred choir of
Apostles became extinct, and the generation of those that had been
privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also
the combinations of impious errors arose by the fraud and delusions
of false teachers. These also, as there were none of the Apostles
left, henceforth attempted without shame, to preach their false
doctrine against the gospel of truth.
Dr. Mosheim has the following on the same subject:
Not long after the Savior's ascension, various histories of his
life and doctrines, full of impositions and fables, were composed by
persons of no bad intentions, perhaps, but who were superstitious,
simple, and piously fraudulent; and afterwards various other spurious
writings were palmed upon the world, falsely inscribed with the names
of the holy Apostles.
This condition of things with reference to the writers in the
centuries under consideration, naturally leads one to the reflection, that
if there were so much of fraud, and so many forged writings, what must
have been the state of the Church at this time with reference to oral
teaching? We are justified in believing, I think, that bad as was the
state of things with reference to the writings of these early teachers of
the Church, the discourses of such as preached may be depended upon as
being much worse. In this view of the case, one can readily understand
that the "authority of antiquity" so generally urged as a reason for
accepting the testimonies of the Fathers, that "handmaid to scripture," as
"antiquity" is sometimes called, the whole body of it, written and oral,
may indeed "be regarded," as Dr. Jortin remarks, "as Briarean, for she has
a hundred hands, and these hands often clash and beat one another."
Moreover, it often happens that those who are condemned by some of
these Fathers as heretics were not only censured for their heresies, but
sometimes for the truths which they held. For example: Papias, a Bishop
and Christian Father in the second century, is condemned by Eusebius for
saying that he received from Apostolic men--meaning thereby men who were
associated with the Apostles--the fact that there would be a corporeal
reign of Christ on earth with the saints, after the resurrection, which
would continue through a thousand years.
Prodicus is censured by Clement of Alexandria for holding that men
are by nature the children of Deity.
Marcion, besides being condemned for his many errors, is also
censured by Irenaeus for believing in salvation for the dead, concerning
which, it must be acknowledged, Marcion did hold peculiar views; but that
is no reason why the general principle should be condemned. He taught
that Jesus Christ went to Hades and preached there, and brought hence all
that believed on him. "The ancients," continue Irenaeus, as quoted by
Lardner, "being of opinion that eternal life is not to be obtained but
through faith in Jesus Christ, and that God is too merciful to let men
perish for not hearing the Gospel, supposed that the Lord preached also to
the dead, that they might have the same advantage with the living." He
further adds, "In the language of Marcion and the fathers, hell does not
necessarily mean the place of the damned; in that place is Tartarus, the
place of torment, and Paradise, or the bosom of Abraham, a place of rest
and refreshment. In that part of Hades Jesus found the just men of the
Old Testament. They were not miserable, but were in a place of comfort
and pleasure." "For Christ," he continues, "promiseth the Jews after this
life, rest in Hades, even in the bosom of Abraham." This far the doctrine
of Marcion is in strict agreement with the New Testament, though denounced
as blasphemy by his opponent. The unfortunate part of Marcion's doctrine
on this head is that he taught that Cain and the wicked of Sodom and the
Egyptians, and in fact all the nations in general, though they had lived
in all manner of wickedness, were saved by the Lord, but that Abel, Enoch,
Noah, and the patriarchs and prophets and other righteous men who walked
with God and pleased Him in their earth life, did not obtain salvation
because they suspected that in the preaching of Christ in the spirit world
there was some scheme of deception to lead them away from their present
qualified acceptance with God, and therefore they would not come to Christ
nor believe in him, for which reason, as he says, "their souls remained in
hell."
Marcion is also condemned for believing in the eternity of matter.
So, too, Hermogenes is censured by Tertullian for the same cause, and for
arguing that God made the world out of matter and could not have made it
out of nothing.
And so throughout there is censure and counter censure between the
orthodox and the heretics, and it is difficult at times to determine which
are the orthodox and which heretics, so frequently do they change places.
Nor was there any improvement in the ages that succeeded these that have
been briefly considered. The editor of Dr. Jortin's learned work on
ecclesiastical history, William Trollope, on a passage of Jortin's on the
early fathers, says of the fathers of the fourth century:
After the council of Nice, a class of writers sprang up,
greatly inferior to their predecessors, in whatever light their
pretensions are viewed. Sadly deficient in learning, prejudiced in
opinion, and inelegant in style, they cannot be admitted for a moment
into competition with those who were contemporary with the Apostles
and their immediate successors.
The whole tenor of his remarks is to the effect that while the
fathers of the second and third centuries are not to be relied upon in
their interpretations of scripture, were frequently deceived in opinions,
and not always to be depended upon in matters of tradition, yet they were
greatly to be preferred in all respects to the fathers of succeeding
centuries.
The Development of False Doctrines After the Death of the Apostles.
Here, too, I shall rely very largely upon the conclusions of the
learned. Dr. Lardner, referring to the development of the heresies, the
seeds of which were sown in the days of the Apostles, says:
Eusebius relates that Ignatius, on his way from Antioch to Rome,
exhorted the churches to beware of heresies which were then springing
up, and which would increase; and that he afterwards wrote his
epistles in order to guard them against these corruptions, and to
confirm them in the faith, This opinion that the seeds of these
heresies were sown in the time of the Apostles, and sprang up
immediately after is an opinion probable in itself and is embraced by
several learned moderns: particularly by Vitringa, and by the late
Rev. Mr. Brekel of Liverpool.
A certain Mr. Deacon attempted to refute the Mr. Brekel referred to
by Dr. Lardner, and to maintain the purity of the Church of the first
three centuries. On this Mr. Brekel observed that "If this point were
thoroughly examined, it would appear that the Christian Church preserved
her virgin purity no longer than the Apostolic age, at least if we may
give credit to Hegesippus." Relying upon the support of the
ecclesiastical history of Socrates, a writer of the first half of the
fifth century, Mr. Brekel also says: "To mention the corruptions and
innovations in religion of the four first centuries, is wholly
superfluous; when it is so very notorious, that, even before the reign of
Constantine, there sprang up a sort of heathenish Christianity which
mingled itself with the true Christian religion."
Of the impending departure from the Christian religion immediately
succeeding the days of the apostles, Dr. Neander says:
Already, in the latter part of the age of St. Paul, we shall see
many things different from what they had been originally; and so it
cannot appear strange if other changes come to be introduced into the
constitution of the (Christian) communities by the altered
circumstances of the times immediately succeeding those of St. Paul
or St. John. Then ensued those strongly marked oppositions and
schisms, those dangers with which the corruptions engendered by
manifold foreign elements threatened primitive Christianity.
Dr. Philip Smith, the author of the Students' Ecclesiastical History,
in speaking of the early corruptions of the Christian religion, says:
The sad truth is that as soon as Christianity was generally
diffused, it began to absorb corruption from all the lands in
which it was planted and to reflect the complexion of all their
systems of religion and philosophy.
Dean Milman, in his preface to his annotated edition of Edward
Gibson's great work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and
commenting upon that great author's attitude respecting the Christian
religion, says:
If, after all, the view of the early progress of Christianity be
melancholy and humiliating, we must beware lest we charge the whole
of this on the infidelity of the historian. It is idle, it is
disingenuous to deny or to dissemble the early depravations of
Christianity, its gradual but rapid departure from its primitive
simplicity and purity, still more from its spirit of universal love.
It may be no unsalutary lesson to the Christian world, that this
silent, this unavoidable perhaps, yet fatal change shall have been
drawn by an impartial, or even an hostile hand.
Dr. Mosheim, in his Institutes, deals at length with the abuses which
arose in the Church in the second and third centuries, which I abridge to
the following, and first as to the second century: Many rites were added
without necessity to both public and private religious worship, to the
great offense of good men; and principally because of the perversity of
mankind who are more delighted with the pomp and splendor of external
forms and pageantry than with the true devotion of the heart. There is
good reason to believe that the Christian bishops purposely multiplied
sacred rites for the sake of rendering the Jews and pagans more friendly
to them. For both these classes had always been accustomed to numerous
and splendid ceremonies, and believed them an essential part of religion.
In pursuance of this policy, and to silence the calumnies of the pagans
and the Jews against them to the effect that the Christians were
pronounced atheists, because destitute of temples, altars, victims,
priests, and all that pomp in which the vulgar suppose the essence of
religion to consist--the Christian leaders introduced many rites, that
they might be able to maintain that they really had those things which the
pagans had, only they subsisted under different forms. Some of these
rites--justified, as was supposed, by a comparison of the Christian
oblations with Jewish victims and sacrifices--in time corrupted
essentially the doctrine of the Lord's supper, and converted it into a
sacrifice. To add further to the dignity of the Christian Religion, the
churches of the east feigned mysteries similar to those of the pagan
religions; and, as with the pagans, the holy rites of the mysteries were
concealed from the vulgar: "And they not only applied the terms used in
the pagan mysteries to the Christian institutions, particularly baptism
and the Lord's supper, but they gradually introduced also the rites which
were designated by those terms." This practice originated in the eastern
provinces of the empire, and thence, after the times of Adrian (who first
introduced the Grecian mysteries among the Latins), it spread among the
Christians of the west, "A large part, therefore, of Christian observances
and institutions, even in this century, had the aspect of the pagan
mysteries." In like manner many ceremonies and customs of the Egyptians
were adopted.
Speaking of the third century the Doctor says that all the monuments
of this century show that there was a great increase of ceremonies in the
Church owing to the prevailing passion for the Platonic philosophy. Hence
arose the public exorcisms, the multiplication of fasts, the aversion to
matrimony, and the painful austerities and penances which were enjoined
upon offenders.
The Revolution of the Fourth Century: Constantine.
It will be observed that I have so far confined my quotations
concerning the corruptions which arose in the Church to the first three
centuries of the Christian Era. I have done so purposely; and chiefly
that I might show by such quotations that the forces which were to bring
about the destruction of the Christian Church were active during those
ages; and also because an event took place in the first part of the fourth
century that culminated in the triumph of those forces. This event was
the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of Rome.
Constantine the Great was the emperor under whose reign this unlooked for
revolution took place. He was the son of Constantine Chlorus, emperor of
the West in the preceding reign, which reign he had shared with Galerius
Maximinus, who ruled the East. Constantine was an "emperor born of an
emperor, the pious son of a most pious and virtuous father," is the
flattering announcement of his parentage on the paternal side, by his
contemporary, Eusebius, the church historian; though he neglects to
mention the obscure origin and humble vocation (that of inn keeper) of his
mother, Nelena, whom her husband repudiated when raised to the dignity of
"Caesar" in the reign of Diocletian.
Constantine was proclaimed emperor by the army in Britain on the
death of his father at York, 306 A. D.: but civil strife raged through
the empire for eighteen years, occasioned by the contending aspirants for
the imperial dignity. The future patron of Christianity, however,
overcame all his rivals and reigned sole monarch of Rome from 323 A. D.,
to the time of his death, fourteen years later,
The policy of Constantine's father towards the Christians in his
division of the empire, the West, had been one not only of toleration but
also of friendship; and this policy the son followed from the commencement
of his career as emperor. The fact of both his own and his father's
friendliness toward the Church, on the one hand, and the hostility of his
rivals against the Church on the other, brought to him the united support
of the Christians throughout the empire; and though they were not so
numerous as they are frequently represented to be, yet it cannot be denied
that the Christians were important factors in determining the course of
events in the empire at this time, and truly they were faithful allies to
Constantine, and he, on his part, neglected not to meet their
anticipations of reward.
A careful study of his life and character will force the conviction
upon the mind that Constantine was a most suitable head for the revolution
which ended by establishing a pseudo-Christianity as the state religion of
the decaying empire. A professed Christian for many years, if we may
believe Iactantius and Eusebius he postponed his baptism, after the
fashion of his times, until the very last year of his life, in order that,
purified at once from all the stains of sin by means of it, he might be
sure of entering into bliss. Such the explanation of those who would
defend this delay of the emperor's; but one cannot fail to remember that
it was quite customary at this time among many professing the Christian
religion to put off baptism as long as they dared that they might enjoy a
life of sin, and then through the means of baptism, just before death, as
by magic, obtain forgiveness. On the motives that prompted Constantine's
acceptance of Christianity, our historians are not agreed. According to
Eusebius his conversion was brought about through seeing in the heavens a
luminous cross at midday, and above it the inscription: "By this
Conquer." This miraculous sign was supplemented on the night following by
the appearance of Jesus Christ to the emperor in a dream, with the same
symbol, the cross, and directed him to make it the ensign of his banners
and his protection against the power of the enemy. According to
Theodoret the emperor was converted through the arguments of his Christian
mother. According to Zosimus, it was through the arguments of an
Egyptian Christian bishop--supposed to be Hosius, Bishop of Cordoba--who
promised him absolution for his crimes, which included a number of
murders, if he would but accept Christianity.
It is as difficult to settle upon the time of Constantine's
conversion as it is the means and nature of it. Neander inclines to the
opinion that he was early influenced in favor of Christianity through the
example if not the teachings of his parents, who, if not fully converted
to the Christian faith, were at least tolerant of it; and may be
reasonably counted among that number who at least admitted Christ to be
the pantheon of the gods. But an act of his in 308 A. D., after the death
of his father, and he himself had been proclaimed emperor of the West,
shows that he was at that time still attached to the pagan forms of
worship; for hearing that the Franks who had been inclined to rebellion
against his government had, on his preparations to make war upon them,
laid down their arms, he offered public thanks in a celebrated temple of
Apollo and gave a magnificent offering to the god.
The story of his conversion as related by Eusebius would fix that
event in the year 312 A. D.; and surely if the open vision of the luminous
cross and the subsequent appearing of Christ in his dream, were realities,
Constantine had sufficient grounds for a prompt and unequivocal conversion
to the Christian faith. But after that, if we consider the conduct of the
emperor, we shall find him, however, astonishing it may seem, still
attached to pagan ceremonies of worship. As late as 321, A. D., nine
years after the visitation of Christ to him, we find him accused of
artfully balancing the hopes and fears of both his pagan and Christian
subjects by publishing in the same year two edicts; the first of which
enjoined the solemn observance of Sunday; and the second directed the
consultation of the Haruspices--the soothsayers of the old pagan
religion. Of this circumstance, Neander, who is disposed to palliate the
conduct of Constantine as far as possible, after intimating that this
lapse might be accounted for on the grounds of state policy, says, "Yet
the other hypothesis, viz., that Constantine had actually fallen back into
heathen superstitions may indeed be regarded as the more natural." Five
years after his supposed miraculous conversion "we find marks of the pagan
state religion upon the imperial coins." "A medal was struck," says Dr.
John W. Draper, doubtless referring to the same thing, "on which was
impressed his [Constantine's] title of `God,' together with the monogram
of Christ." "Another," he continues, "represented him as raised by a hand
from the sky while seated in the chariot of the Sun. But more
particularly the great prophecy pillar, a column one hundred and twenty
feet in height, exhibited the true religious condition of the founder of
Constantinople. The statue on its summit mingled together the Sun, the
Savior, and the Emperor, the body was a colossal image of Apollo, whose
features were replaced by those of Constantine, and around the head, like
rays, were fixed the nails of the cross of Christ recently discovered in
Jerusalem." While on the day Constantinople was formally made the
capital of the empire, he honored the statue of Fortune with his gifts.
In view of all these acts, ranging as they do over the greater part of the
first Christian emperor's life, and through many years after his supposed
conversion, I think Gibbon is justified in his remarks upon this part of
Constantine's conduct: "It was an arduous task to eradicate the habits
and prejudices of his education, to acknowledge the divine power of
Christ, and to understand that the truth of his revelation was
incompatible with the worship of the gods."
Turning from the consideration of the equivocal conduct of the
emperor to his character, we have a subject about which there is less
disagreement among authorities; for even Christian apologists are
compelled to admit the wickedness of this first Christian emperor.
"Relying, with presumptuous confidence," says Neander, "on the great
things which God had done, through him, for the advancement of the
Christian Church, he found it easy to excuse or extenuate to his
conscience many a wrong deed, into which he had suffered himself to be
betrayed by ambition, the love of rule, the arbitrary exercise of power,
or the jealousy of despotism."
"It is indeed true that Constantine's life was not such as the
precepts of Christianity required," Dr. Mosheim remarks, but softens the
statement against the emperor by saying that, "It is but too notorious
that many persons who look upon the Christian religion as indubitably true
and of divine origin, yet do not conform their lives to all its holy
precepts."
Dr. Lardner, after drawing a most favorable outline of Constantine's
person and character, and citing the flattery of contemporary panegyrists
as a description of the man, says: "Having observed these virtues of
Constantine, and other things, which are to his advantage; a just respect
to truth obligeth us to take notice of some other things, which seem to
cast a reflection upon him." And then in the most naive manner he adds:
"Among these, one of the chief is putting to death so many of his
relatives!" He enumerates the victims of the first Christian emperor as
follows: "Maximilian Herculius, his wife's father; Bassianus, husband of
his sister Anastasia: Crispus, his own son; Fausta, his wife; Licinius,
husband of his sister Contantia; and Licinianus, or Licinius, the younger,
his nephew, and son of the forementioned Licinius." The last named
victim was a mere lad when put to death, "not more than a little above
eleven years of age, if so much," is Dr. Lardner's own description of him.
Fausta was suffocated in a steam bath, though she had been his wife for
twenty years and mother of three of his sons. It should be remembered
that this is the list of victims admitted by a most learned and pious
Christian writer, not a catalogue drawn up by pagan historians, whom we
might suspect of malice against one who had deserted the shrines of the
ancient gods for the faith of the Christians, But this rather formidable
list of murdered victims, admitted by Dr. Lardner, shakes not his faith in
the goodness of the first Christian emperor. Some of these "executions"
he palliates, if not justifies, on the ground of political necessity; and
others on the ground of domestic perfidy; though he almost stumbles in his
efforts at excusing the taking off of Crispus, the emperor's own son;
Fausta, his wife; and the lad Licinius. "These are the executions," he
says, "which above all others cast a reflection upon the reign of
Constantine; though there are also hints of the death of some others about
the same time, with whom Constantine had till then lived in friendship."
After which the Doctor immediately adds--in the very face of all the facts
he adduces, and after reciting the condemnation of both heathen and
Christian writers of some of these murders--the following: "I do by no
means think that Constantine was a man of a cruel disposition; and
therefore I am unwilling to touch upon any other actions of a like nature:
as his making some German princes taken captive, fight in the theatre; and
sending the head of Maxentius to Africa, after it had been made a part of
Constantine's triumphal entry at Rome." When one finds a sober Christian
writer of the eighteenth century who can thus speak of Constantine; and
further remembers that to this day a priest of the Greek church seldom
mentions the name of the "imperial saint," without adding this title,
"Equal to the Apostles;" one is not surprised that while he lived, and at
his court a Christian bishop could be found who "congratulated him as
constituted by God to rule over all, in the present world, and destined to
reign with the son of God in the world to come." On that Eusebius, who
is spoken of as one of the best bishops of the imperial court, "did not
scruple for a moment to ascribe to the purest motives of a true servant of
God all those transactions into which the emperor, without evincing the
slightest regard to truth or to humanity, had suffered himself to be drawn
by an ambition which could not abide a rival, in the struggle with
Licinius; when he represents the emperor, in a war which, beyond a doubt,
had been undertaken from motives of a purely selfish policy, as
marshalling the order of the battle, and giving out the words of command
by divine inspiration bestowed in answer to his prayer."
Enough of this. Let us look no longer at this first of the Christian
emperors through the eyes of churchmen seeking to extol his virtues and
hide his crimes, all for the honor of the Church. So odious had he become
in Rome for his many murders that a pasquinade which compared his reign to
that of the detested Nero was nailed to the palace gates. "The guilty
emperor," says one, "in the first burst of anger, was on the point of
darkening the tragedy, if such a thing had been possible, by a massacre of
the Roman populace who had thus insulted him." His brothers were
consulted on this measure of vengeance, however, and the result of their
counsel was a resolution to degrade Rome to a subordinate rank, and build
a metropolis elsewhere, and hence the new capital of the empire rose on
the shores of the Bosphorus.
Reflecting upon the career of Constantine from the days of his young
manhood, which had in it something of the quality that makes the
successful leader of men, to the time when he fell under the influence of
the false priests of a corrupted religion, Draper says:
From the rough soldier who accepted the purple at York, how
great the change to the effeminate emperor of the Bosphorus, in
silken robes stiffened with threads of gold, a diadem of sapphires
and pearls, and false hair, stained of various tints; his steps
stealthily guarded by mysterious eunuchs flitting through the palace,
the streets full of spies, and an ever watchful police! The same man
who approaches us as the Roman imperator retires from us as the
Asiatic despot. In the last days of his life he put aside the
imperial purple, and, assuming the customary white garments, prepared
for baptism, that the sins of his long and evil life might all be
washed away. Since complete purification can thus be only once
obtained, he was desirous to procrastinate that ceremony to the last
moment. Profoundly politic, even in his relations with heaven, he
thenceforth reclined on a white bed, took no further part in worldly
affairs and, having thus insured a right to the continuance of that
prosperity in a future life which he had enjoyed in this, expired.
And so Gibbon:
The sublime theory of the gospel had made a much fainter
impression on the heart, than on the understanding, of Constantine
himself. He pursued the great objects of his ambition through the
dark and bloody paths of war and policy; and, after the victory, he
abandoned himself, without moderation, to the abuse of his fortune.
Instead of asserting his just superiority above the imperfect heroism
and profane philosophy of Trajan and the Antonines, the mature age of
Constantine forfeited the reputation which he had acquired in his
youth. As he gradually advanced in the knowledge of truth, he
proportionately declined in the practice of virtue; and the same year
of his reign in which he convened the council of Nice, was polluted
by the execution, or rather murder of his eldest son (Crispus). * *
* * At the time of the death of Crispus, the emperor could no
longer hesitate in the choice of religion; he could no longer be
ignorant that the church was possessed of an infallible remedy,
(baptism) though he chose to defer the application of it till the
approach of death had removed the temptation and danger of a relapse.
* * * * The example and reputation of Constantine seemed to
countenance the delay of baptism. Future tyrants were encouraged to
believe that the innocent blood which they might shed in a long reign
would instantly be washed away in the waters of regeneration; and the
abuse of religion dangerously undermined the foundations of moral
virtue.
Such then, was the first Christian emperor. He uplifted
"Christianity" from the condition of a persecuted religion, and made it
the state religion of Rome; and also provided means for its wider
acceptance. If for this it shall be claimed, as it is, that much in his
evil life should be overlooked, it would still be pertinent to ask whether
his acts in connection with Christianity did not debase rather than exalt
it; and if his provisions for its wider acceptation did not tend rather to
the corruption of what remained true in the Christianity then extant, than
to the establishment of true religion.
Corrupted Christianity Made a Persecuting Religion.
The edict of Milan, by which was intended no more than the
establishment of religious liberty in the empire, and which was issued in
313 A. D., by Constantine and his colleague, Licinius, was well enough.
Freedom to teach and practice the truth is all the Christian church could
ask or expect. Had he stopped here, his action in this particular would
have met with universal applause. But he went beyond this. He not only
protected the Christians by his laws, but prohibited by express edicts the
free exercise of religion to the pagans. His proscriptions were mild at
first, going no further than to prohibit soothsaying and divination in
private houses or anywhere in secret. Later, however, if we may believe
the words of Eusebius, he placed the pagan religion under the ban of the
laws. Eusebius says:
The emperor proceeded to act with great vigor, gave the
government of the provinces chiefly to Christians, and when any
Gentiles were made governors they were prohibited to sacrifice.
Which law comprehended not only presidents of provinces but also
higher officers and even the praeiorian praefects. If they were
Christians, they were required to act according to their principles.
If they were otherwise disposed, still the practice of idolatrous
rites were forbidden. * * * * And soon after that were two laws
published at one and the same time, one prohibiting the detestable
rites of idolatry hitherto practiced in cities and country places:
and that for the future none should erect statues to the gods, nor
perform the vain arts of divination, nor offer up any sacrifices.
The other law was for enlarging Christian oratories and churches, or
for rebuilding them more grand and splendid.
When contrasting the course of the first Christian emperor with the
pagan emperors, Eusebius says, "They commanded the temples to be
magnificently adorned: he demolished them to the foundation, especially
such as were most respected by superstitious people." Later he expressly
says that throughout the whole Roman empire, the doors of idolatry were
shut to the commonalty and to the soldiery, and that "every kind of
sacrifice was prohibited." Again, he says that there were several laws,
published for these purposes, forbidding sacrifices, divinations, raising
statues, and the secret mysteries or rites of initiation. And he says
further that "in Egypt a sort of priesthood, consecrated to the honor of
the Nile, was entirely suppressed." I am not unmindful that some
respectable authorities question if Constantine really departed from the
policy of toleration announced in his edict of Milan: and that even
Gibbon is inclined to believe in his toleration of paganism. The
statement here made by Eusebius, the contemporary and biographer of
Constantine, however, together with reference to the edicts of suppression
quoted by his son Constans in the succeeding reign, and which is quoted by
Lardner, establishes beyond question the policy of intolerance of
Constantine toward paganism, especially when what Eusebius has said is
supplemented by the fact that the emperor destroyed a number of heathen
temples, and peremptorily ordered the closing of the others. Among the
heathen temples destroyed was one at Aegae, in Cilieia, erected to
Aesculapius, celebrated for the number of sick that had been healed there,
and held in high esteem by men of the better class among the pagans and
philosophers. It is said that by its destruction and the public
exhibition of certain images of the gods, many tricks of the priests were
exposed and, became objects of sport to the populace. But while this may
have been the conduct of some insincere pagans, those who remained
heathens, as LeClerc has well said, "were no doubt extremely shocked at
the manner in which the statues of their gods were treated; and could not
consider the Christians as men of moderation. For, in short, those
statues were as dear to them, as anything, the most sacred, could be to
the Christians." Eusebius taunted the philosophers about the destruction
of the temple, without any interference on the part of the god to whom it
had been erected, apparently all unmindful of the fact that just such
taunts had been hurled at the Christian martyrs in the days that the
"kingdom of God suffered violence, and the violent took it by force."
"Had not Eusebius," remarked Lardner, "often heard with his own ears, and
read in the history of ancient martyrs, the insults and triumphs of the
heathens over the Christians, that they professed themselves the
worshipers of the great and only true God, and yet everybody, that
pleased, was able to molest and destroy them, as he saw good?"
The zeal of Christian writers has done all in its power to excuse or
palliate the conduct of Constantine in his acts for the suppression of the
pagan religion and worship; but after all is said by his apologists that
can be said; after every allowance is conceded for the times in which he
lived, and the previous conduct of the pagans through two centuries of
violence towards the Christians, the fact remains that the first Christian
emperor did by his edicts put the ancient religion of the empire under the
ban of the law, and by acts of violence destroyed some of its temples and
closed the rest by imperial decree, that the pagan gods might not be
worshiped; and this, doubtless, with the approval--and it would not be
difficult to believe, under all the circumstances, at the suggestion of
Christian bishops who thronged his court. On the foundation of
intolerance thus laid by him, others hastened to build. In the succeeding
reign, among the first laws enacted was this one against pagan sacrifices:
Let superstition cease; let the madness of sacrificing he abolished.
For whoever shall presume contrary to the constitution of our father, a
prince of blessed memory, and contrary to this command of our clemency, to
offer sacrifices, let a proper and convenient punishment be inflicted, and
execution presently done upon him.
This edict was supplemented a few years later by the following
edict:
It is our pleasure that in all places and in all cities, the
temples be immediately shut, and carefully guarded that none may have
the power of offending. It is likewise our pleasure, that all our
subjects should abstain from sacrifices. If any one should be guilty
of such an act, let him feel the sword of vengeance; and after his
execution, let his property be confiscated to the public use. We
denounce the same penalties against the governors of the provinces,
if they neglect to punish the criminals.
It is not necessary to pursue the subject much further. It will be
sufficient to say that during the fourth century, by following the policy
of suppression inaugurated by this first Christian emperor, Christianity
was changed from a persecuted to a persecuting religion. Without
restraint from the ecclesiastical authorities, the Christian emperors
issued edicts against the pagan religion, proscribed its followers,
destroyed its temples, and confiscated its property to the uses of the
rival religion. Even Neander, speaking of this revolution, and
constrained as he is to say all that he can for the honor of the Christian
Church, is compelled to admit that "the relation of things had become
reversed. As in former times the observance of the pagan ceremonies, the
religion of the state, had appeared in the light of a civil duty, and the
profession of Christianity in that of a crime against the state; so now it
was the case, not indeed that the outward profession of Christianity was
commanded as a universal civil duty, for against this the spirit of
Christianity too earnestly remonstrated; but that the exercise of the
pagan religion was made politically dangerous." In the pages of this
eminent Christian historian one may read that before the close of the
century which witnessed the elevation of Christianity to the dignity of
the state religion of the empire, wild troops of Christian monks were
undertaking campaigns, especially in the country, for the destruction of
the heathen temples in which sacrifices were alleged to have been
performed: of bishops who not only superintended the destruction of
heathen temples at the head of bands of soldiers and gladiators, but
paraded through the streets of the cities the symbols of the heathen
faith, provoking civil conflicts which Christian emperors did not hesitate
to take advantage of for the more complete suppression of paganism.
Meantime a pagan apologist, Libanius, arises to plead the cause of
religious toleration, and in the course of his address to the Christian
emperor, Theodosius, he puts to shame the Christianity then in vogue, by
showing the emperor how far the Church had departed from the spirit of the
Christian religion, by saying: "Force is said not to be permitted, even
according to the laws of your own religion: persuasion is said to be
praised, but force condemned by them. Why then, do you wreak your fury
against the temples, when this surely is not to persuade, but to use
force? Thus, then, it is plain you would transgress even the laws of your
own religion." Lardner calls attention to the fact that as under pagan
emperors previous to Constantine Christianity had been in a state of
persecution, so now, after Constantine, he proceeds to show that paganism
under Christian emperors was all along in a state of
persecution--"However, I would hope, not so severe and vigorous as that of
the Christians in the foregoing period of near three hundred years." And
so LeClerc, as quoted by Lardner:
Thus it was that the Christians continued to return to the
pagans what they had suffered from them during the first three
centuries instead of gaining them by patience and mildness, which
they had so much recommended when they were the weakest. This
conduct was proper to make the pagans more obstinate, by teaching
them that the Christians affected to speak of humanity and moderation
from interest only, and not from a principle of religion as they
pretended. At least it is certain, that thereby they lost the right
to complain of the manner in which the pagans had treated them in
times past, or to boast of the mildness of their religion, which they
effectually disparaged by those persecutions, * * * Nor ought we
to imagine that the penalties laid by Christians upon the pagans were
light. If a sacrifice was offered in a private place, with the
knowledge of the proprietor, the place was confiscated; if not, they
were to pay a fine of twenty pounds of gold, as much as if it had
been done in a temple; and in some cases the penalty of death was
appointed. We may look into the oration of Libanius for the temples,
where that orator sustains the same character before Theodosius as
the Christians had formerly done before pagan emperors, I must
acknowledge that this phenomenon, if I may so call it, gives me pain:
for I could wish that they who defended the truth had preserved to
themselves the honor of being the only persons that were persecuted
for religion.
Persecution of "Heretics."
Once started upon the policy of suppressing by force those of a
different religion, Christianity did not stop with the persecution of the
pagans; bad and un-Christian as that was, still more serious results
occurred from the persecutions inflicted upon so called heretics in the
Church, by those who were considered orthodox. It is true that there were
heretics in the Church before the days of Constantine: much progress had
been made in the matter of paganizing Christianity, and more or less of
intolerance was manifested by Christian sects towards one another; but it
was the policy and example of this first Christian emperor that laid the
real foundation for that monument of shame and disgrace to the Christian
name which rises upon the plains of Christian discord and strife and war
waged against heretics in the name and for the glory of Christ. It is
this which constitutes the most melancholy page of ecclesiastical history.
In his office of supreme pontiff in the old pagan religion, which he
held by virtue of being emperor of Rome, Constantine may naturally have
supposed that the supreme headship of the religion he had protected and
the Church he had elevated fell to him for the same reason; and with it
the right to reconcile differences, compose factions, and determine what
should be the orthodox faith. At any rate we find him acting somewhat in
this capacity. When contending church parties appealed to him, he at
first was indifferent to their disputes, and tried to shame them into
harmony by referring to the conduct of the Greek philosophers, who never
discussed difficult questions before ignorant multitudes; who could
maintain their arguments without losing their temper; and assert their
freedom without violating any friendship." His efforts at reconciling
the differences that arose among Christians over what is known as the
Arian controversy were of no avail; and after six years of bitter strife,
the emperor summoned the bishops of the Church to Nicea in Bithynia.
After long deliberation Arianism was condemned, and orthodox Christianity
was established by decree of the council, ratified by the emperor, to
which all Christians must conform. Those who resisted the divine judgment
of the synod must prepare themselves for immediate exile. How effectual
the argument, "belief or banishment," even among the bishops at the
council, was, may be determined from the fact that "the opposition to the
decision of the council was almost instantly reduced from seventeen to
two." In his zeal to enforce orthodoxy the emperor forgot his former
moderation, and in 326 A.D.--the year following the council of Nicea--he
issued a general edict against heretics, in which after condemning his own
past forbearance as occasioning men's being seduced, he says to the
various heretical parties:
Wherefore, since this your pernicious wickedness is no longer to
be endured, we by this present law command you, that you no more
presume to meet together. And we have given orders that all those
places where you are wont to hold assemblies should be taken away.
Yea, our concern for this matter is such, that we not only forbid you
to assemble to any public place but we likewise forbid all assemblies
of your foolish superstition in private houses, and in all private
places whatever. All of you, therefore, who have any sincere love of
truth, come to the Catholic church. And that this remedy may have
its full effect, we ordain that all your superstitious conventicles,
I mean oratories of all heretics, if it be fit to call such houses
oratories, be forthwith taken away, and without any opposition
delivered to the Catholic church: and that the rest of your places
be adjudged to the public.
"Thus the dens of heretics were laid open by the imperial edict,"
exultantly exclaims Eusebius, the Christian bishop, "and the wild beasts,
the ring leaders of their impiety, were scattered." And thus was the
paganized Christian church launched upon that career of persecution of
heretics within the church, as well as upon the policy of persecuting
those of a different religion: a policy that has filled the world with
religious wars, and deeds of cruelty which would better become the reign
of a Nero than Christian rulers of Christian nations. It is a terrible
arraignment which Gibbon draws against apostate Christendom in the
concluding paragraph of his review of the persecutions which had been
endured by the followers of Christ in the Christian centuries preceding
Constantine, He says:
We shall conclude this chapter by a melancholy truth, which
obtrudes itself on the reluctant mind; that, even admitting, without
hesitation or inquiry, all that history has recorded, or devotion has
feigned, on the subject of martyrdoms, it must still be acknowledged
that the Christians, in the course of their intestine dissensions
have inflicted far greater severities on each other than they have
experienced from the zeal of infidels. During the ages of ignorance
which followed the subversion of the Roman empire in the west, the
bishops of the imperial city extended their dominion over the laity
as well as clergy of the Latin church. The fabric of superstition
which they had erected, and which might long have defied the feeble
efforts of reason, was at length assaulted by a crowd of daring
fanatics, who, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, assumed the
popular character of reformers. The church of Rome defended by
violence the empire which she had acquired by fraud; a system of
peace and benevolence was soon disgraced by proscriptions, wars,
massacres, and the institution of the holy office; and as the
reformers were animated by the love of civil as well as religious
freedom, the Catholic princes connected their own interest with that
of the clergy, and enforced by fire and sword the error of spiritual
censures. In the Netherlands alone more than one hundred thousand of
the subjects of Charles the Fifth are said to have suffered by the
hand of the executioner; and this extraordinary number is attested by
Grotius, a man of genius and learning who preserved his moderation
amidst the fury of contending sects, and who composed the annals of
his own age and century, at the time when the invention of printing
had facilitated the means of intelligence and increased the danger of
detection. If we are obliged to submit our belief to the authority
of Grotius, it must be allowed that the number of protestants who
were executed in a single province and a single reign far exceeded
that of the primitive martyrs in the space of three centuries, and of
the Roman empire!
Both Guizot and Milman, eminent Christian scholars, annotated the
work of Edward Gibbon, the former in French, the latter in an English
edition; and at every point where they could modify a statement or soften
a passage apparently unjust to Christianity, they did so; but in the
presence of the important and terrible passages just quoted, they remained
absolutely silent! Nor has any other Christian writer since their day, so
far as I know, attempted to contradict the statement of Mr. Gibbon. It is
proper to say, however, that in a note Mr. Gibbon himself cites the fact
that Fra Paola an Italian writer, places the number of Belgic martyrs at
fifty thousand, but even that computation would still leave the conclusion
of Mr. Gibbon's reflections unimpaired.
The circumstance of the Church, elevated by Constantine becoming a
persecuting Church is a strong evidence of its paganized state; for the
true Christian religion is not a persecuting religion; the true Church of
Christ is not a persecuting Church. When the Samaritans would not receive
the Messiah, some of the Apostles would have them consumed by fire from
heaven; but the Master turned and rebuked them, saying, "Ye know not what
manner of spirit ye are of, For the Son of man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them." It is true that Messiah said: "think
not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and
the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."
This, however, is but a prediction of the effect of the proclamation of
the Gospel, not an authorization to force the acceptance of Christianity
by the sword; nor does it authorize the Church to invoke the arm of the
civil authority to execute by force her doctrinal decrees. The Gospel of
Jesus Christ, it is true, did not bring peace, but a sword: the sword,
however, was found in the hands of those who rejected the Gospel, not in
the hands of those who accepted and preached it. And when the Church
departed so far from the spirit of Christ that she grasped the sword in
her own hands, or dictated the civil authority to wield it in her behalf,
and that became the policy of the Church, the adoption of that policy
proclaimed her apostate condition to the world, in a manner to be known
and read of all men.
Christianity Before and After Constantine.
I think sufficient has been said to justify the belief that the reign
of Constantine marks the period when the paganization of Christianity had
become complete. I do not mean by this that there is any particular date
which one may set down to show that here true Christianity ceases, and
there apostate Christianity begins; which is a point frequently insisted
upon by those who contend for the unbroken perpetuity of Christianity from
the days of Messiah. They demand to know on what night it was that the
whole collection of Christians, of different nationalities and languages,
went to bed sound in the Christian faith, to awake the next morning all
pagans. I claim no such sudden revolution brought about the apostasy
which I am sure took place. We have seen by what has already been said,
that even in the time of the Apostles there was a tendency on the part of
the Christians to depart from the religion of Jesus Christ; that after the
days of the Apostles there was a steady increase in the number and
influence of false teachers; an insidious introduction of heresies; a
multiplication of rites and ceremonies well known in the pagan celebration
of religious mysteries, but entirely foreign to the Gospel; and an
amalgamation of pagan doctrines with Christian principles. It remains to
be shown that there was a steady increase of immorality among the
professing Christians; a marked loss of spirituality; a rapid growth of
pride and worldliness on the part of Christian bishops and other church
leaders; and at last, an utter departure from the true and living God and
Jesus Christ whom He had sent, and the establishment of a system in its
place, as debasing to men as it was dishonorable to God.
Taking then the reign of Constantine as the period beyond which the
true religion of Christ did not extend, nor the true Church of Christ
exist, let us consider Christianity before his reign and after it. Here I
shall ask the reader to take into account as part of the consideration of
Christianity previous to Constantine what I have already set before him in
this introduction concerning the tendency to division and heresies which
existed in the Church in the days of the Apostles; and also those
quotations I have made from eminent Christian authorities, which give
evidence of the early corruption of Christianity, and which too plainly
testify that it was in a state of steady decline through the second and
third centuries, until it was fit only for such enthronement as a
Constantine could give it, when he made it the state religion of a corrupt
empire hastening to its decay. If the reader will do this, it will
obviate the necessity of my referring to these matters again.
Decline in Moral and Spiritual Living Among Christians.
It will be conceded that the Gospel of Jesus Christ commands a very
high order of moral and spiritual living, and that the Apostles enjoined
this moral law upon the early saints as essential to the favor of God.
Others also after the days of the Apostles, followed in the same
admonition, and indeed the sharp contrast that existed between the lives
of converts before and after their acceptance of Christianity was a matter
of pride not only to St. Paul, but to Justin Martyr of the second century
who, in reference to the change produced in the lives of Christian
converts, said:
We, who were once slaves of lust, now have delight only in
purity of morals; we, who once practiced arts of magic, have
consecrated ourselves to the Eternal and Good God; we, who once
prized gain above all things, give even what we have to the common
use and share it with such as are in need; we, who once hated and
murdered one another, who on account of differences of customs would
have no common hearth with strangers, do now, since the appearance of
Christ, live together with them; we pray for our enemies, we seek to
convince those that hate us without cause, so that they may order
their lives according to Christ's glorious doctrine and attain to the
joyful hope of receiving like blessings with us from God, the Lord of
all.
It was not long, however, before there was a marked departure from
this high moral level among the Christians. In tracing that decline I
shall use chiefly the History of the Church by Joseph Milner, published in
1794. My reason for doing so is as follows: I have already stated in
this writing, that Milner wrote what some regard as his "great history of
the Church," to counteract the influence of Dr. Mosheim's splendid
Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, which is evidently by some regarded
as too much a history of the perversions and abuses of religion, Milner
plainly informs his readers that he intends to write the history of those
only who have been real, not nominal, Christians, irrespective of the
external Church to which they belonged, proceeding upon the theory that
these good men constitute the Church of Christ. His history, in other
words, is a history of piety, not of the Church. It will be his purpose
therefore to exalt the morality of the Christians in all ages; and I quote
his work respecting the moral deteriorations of the Christians that I may
not be charged with quoting authorities who some think have made too much
of Christian shortcomings. Milner says that a gloomy cloud, concerning
moral conditions, hung over the close of the first century, and proceeds
to argue that the first impressions made by the effusions of the spirit
are the strongest; that human depravity overborne for a time arose afresh,
particularly in the next generation, and hence the disorders of schisms
and heresies in the Church. Neander does not agree with the philosophy of
Milner. He says, "Christianity, since it first entered human nature, has
operated, wherever it has struck root, with the same divine power for
sanctification; and this divine power cannot be weakened by the lapse of
ages. In this respect, therefore, the period of the first appearance of
Christianity could have no advantage over any of the following ages of the
Christian Church." And he follows this declaration with a statement,
that the change which Christianity produced in the lives of those who
accepted it appeared so strongly marked by the contrast it presented with
what they had previously been when pagans. The correctness of the
philosophy I shall leave these two great Christian authorities to settle
between themselves. I am concerned more particularly with the facts in
the case.
In consequence of the prominence that has been given to the
persecutions of the Christians during the first three centuries, the
impression very extensively prevails that the early Christian Church was
constantly under the hard pressure of continuous and relentless
persecutions. This, however, is not the case. There were many periods of
peace granted to the Christians. Indeed their periods of persecution were
only occasional, and it is a question if these periods of peace were not
more detrimental to Christianity than the seasons of persecution. Milner,
under the authority of Origen, says that the long peace granted the Church
in the third century, during the reign of the several emperors, from about
260 A. D., to the opening of the fourth century, produced a great degree
of luke-warmness and religious indecorum. "Let the reader," he says,
"only notice the indifference which Origen here describes and the conduct
of Christians both in the first and second centuries, and he will be
affected with the greatness of the declension." Then he quotes Origen:
"Several come to church only on solemn festivals, and then not so much for
instruction as diversion. Some go out again as soon as they have heard
the lecture, without conferring or asking the pastors questions. Others
stay not till the lecture is ended, and others hear not so much as a
single word, but entertain themselves in a corner of the church."
Coming to the middle of the third century, just previous to that
severe persecution inaugurated by the emperor Decius, and speaking of
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, Milner exclaims: "A star of the first
magnitude, when we consider the time in which he lived! Let us recreate
ourselves with the contemplation of it. We are fatigued with hunting for
Christian goodness, and we have discovered but little and that little with
much difficulty. We shall find Cyprian to be a character who partook
indeed of the declensions which we have noticed and lamented, but who was
still far superior, I apprehend, in real simplicity and piety, to the
Christians of the East." This same Cyprian, in whom Milner delights,
speaking of the effects of the long peace upon the Church which preceded
the Decian persecution, says:
Each had been bent on improving his own patrimony, and had
forgotten what believers had done under the Apostles, and what they
ought always to do. They were brooding over the arts of amassing
wealth; the pastors and the deacons each forgot his duty; works of
mercy were neglected, and discipline was at the lowest ebb; luxury
and effeminacy prevailed; meretricious arts in dress were cultivated;
fraud and deception practiced among brethren. Christians would unite
themselves in matrimony with unbelievers; could swear, not only
without reverence but without veracity. With haughty asperity they
despised their ecclesiastical superiors; they railed against one
another with outrageous acrimony, and conducted quarrels with
determined malice. Even many bishops, who ought to be guides and
patterns to the rest, neglected the peculiar duties of their
stations, gave themselves up to secular pursuits. They deserted
their places of residence and their flocks; they traveled through
distant provinces in quest of pleasure and gain; gave no assistance
to their needy brethren but were insatiable in their thirst of money.
They possessed estates by fraud and multiplied usury. What have we
not deserved to suffer for such conduct? Even the divine word hath
foretold us what we might expect: "If his children forsake my law
and walk not in my judgments, I will visit their offenses with the
rod and their sins with scourges." These things had been denounced
and foretold but in vain. Our sins had brought our affairs to that
pass, that because we had despised the Lord's directions, we were
obliged to undergo a correction of our multiplied evils and a trial
of our faith by severe remedies.
Referring to the long reign of peace in the closing decade of the
third century, Milner says:
This new scene [the toleration of Christianity by a pagan
government] did not prove favorable to the growth of grace and
holiness. In no period since the Apostles was there ever so great a
general decay as in this. Not even in particular instances can we
discover during this interval much of lively Christianity.
Here I drop Milner to take up Eusebius, who was an eye witness of the
moral declension among the Christians previous to the last great pagan
persecution under the emperor Diocletian. Referring to the long period of
peace which the Church had enjoyed--a period of forty years--he says:
But when, by reason of excessive liberty, we sunk into
negligence and sloth, one envying and reviling another in different
ways, and we were almost, as it were, upon the point of taking up
arms against each other with words as with darts and spears, prelates
inveighing against prelates, and people rising up against people, and
hypocrisy and dissimulation had arisen to the greatest height of
malignity, then the divine judgment, which usually proceeds with a
lenient hand, whilst the multitudes were yet crowding into the
Church, with gentle and mild visitations began to afflict the
episcopacy; the persecution having begun with those brethren in the
army. But as if destitute of all sensibility, we were not prompt in
measures to appease and propitiate the Deity; some indeed like
atheists, regarding our situation as unheeded and unobserved by a
Providence, we added one wickedness and misery to another. But some
that appeared to be our pastors deserting the law of piety, were
inflamed against each other with mutual strifes, only accumulating
quarrels and threats, rivalship, hostility and hatred to each other
only anxious to assert the government as a kind of sovereignty for
themselves.
Here I shall avail myself of some reflections upon this condition
which I have elsewhere expressed. Let it be remembered that what is said
in the foregoing quotation is from a writer contemporary with the events,
and who says, in the very chapter following the one from which I have just
quoted, that it was not for him to record the dimensions and follies which
the shepherds of the people exercised against each other before the
persecution. He also adds: "We shall not make mention of those that were
shaken by the persecution, nor of those that suffered shipwreck in their
salvation, and of their own accord were sunk in the depths of the watery
gulf." Then in his Book of Martyrs, referring to events that occurred
between the edicts ordering the persecution, he says: "But the events
that occurred in the intermediate times, besides those already related, I
have thought proper to pass by: I mean more particularly the
circumstances of the different heads of the churches, who from being
shepherds of the reasonable flocks of Christ, that did not govern in a
lawful and becoming manner, were condemned by divine justice, as unworthy
of such a charge, to be the keepers of the unreasonable camel, an animal
deformed in the structure of his body; and condemned further to be the
keepers of the imperial horses. * * * * Moreover, the ambitious aspirings
of many to office, and the injudicious and unlawful ordinations that took
place, the divisions among the confessors themselves, the great schisms
and difficulties industriously fomented by the factions among the new
members, against the relics of the Church, devising one innovation after
another, and unmercifully thrusting them into the midst of all these
calamities, heaping up affliction upon affliction; all this, I say, I have
resolved to pass by, judging it foreign to my purpose, wishing, as I said
in the beginning, to shun and avoid giving an account of them." Hence,
however bad the condition of the Church is represented to be by
ecclesiastical writers, we must know that it was still worse than that;
however numerous the schisms; however unholy the ambition of aspiring
prelates; however frequent and serious the innovations upon the primitive
ordinances of the Gospel; however great the confusion and apostasy in the
Church is represented to be; we must know that it is still worse than
that, since the Church historians contemporaneous with the events refused
to record these things in their fullness, lest it should have disastrous
to the Church; just as some of our modern scholars professing to write
Church history express their determination to close their eyes to the
corruption and abuses which form the greater part of the melancholy story
of ecclesiastical history, for fear that relating these things would make
it appear that real religion scarcely had any existence.
I shall say no more upon the matter of moral declensions among
Christians, except this: If there were such moral declensions among
Christians as are represented by the foregoing high authorities on
Christian affairs in the centuries preceding Constantine, what moral
declension must have prevailed when from a proscribed religion
Christianity was exalted to the dignity of the state religion of the
empire; and her prelates and clergy were recalled from exile and
suffering, poverty and disgrace, and loaded with the wealth and honors
that the lord of the Roman world could bestow? Consider, in this
connection, the propositions of Constantine at the council of Nicea for
the propaganda of Christianity, and pass a candid judgment upon the moral
or rather immoral effect they would produce upon the Church. Neander thus
states them:
"The heathen would be most easily led to salvation, if the condition
of the Christians were made to appear to them in all respects enviable.
"They [the bishops] should consider that the advantage to be derived
from preaching could not belong to all.
"Some, he said, might be drawn to the faith by being seasonably
supplied with the means of subsistence.
"Others were accustomed to repair to that quarter where they found
protection and intercession (alluding to the intercessions of the
bishops).
"Others would be won by an affable reception,
"Others by being honored with presents,
"There were but few who honestly loved the exhibitions of religious
doctrine; but few were the friends of truth (therefore but few sincere
converts),
"For this reason they should accommodate themselves to the characters
of all, and like skillful physicians, give to each man that which might
contribute to his cure, so that in every way the saving doctrine might be
glorified in all."
The effect of adopting such methods for the more rapid propagation of
Christianity, as is here proposed by the emperor to the bishops assembled
at the council of Nicea, must be apparent to all, and is quite universally
lamented by Christian writers of later ages. "A course of Proceeding upon
such principles," remarks Neander himself, "must entirely have thrown open
a wide door for all manner of hypocrisy. Even Eusebius, the panegyrist of
Constantine, blinded as he was by the splendor which the latter had cast
over the outward Church--even he is obliged to reckon among the grievous
evils of this period, of which he was an eye witness, the indescribable
hypocrisy of those who gave themselves out as Christians merely for
temporal advantage, and who, by their outward show of zeal for the faith,
contrived to win the confidence of the emperor, which he suffered them to
abuse." "The piercing eye of ambition and avarice," says Gibbon, "soon
discovered that the profession of Christianity might contribute to the
interest of the present as well as of a future life. The hopes of wealth
and honors, the example of an emperor, his exhortations, his irresistible
smiles, diffused conviction among the venal and obsequious crowds which
usually fill the apartments of a palace. The cities which signalized a
forward zeal by the voluntary destruction of their temples, were
distinguished by municipal privileges and rewarded with popular donatives.
* * * As the lower ranks of society are governed by imitation, the
conversion of those who possessed an eminence of birth, of power, or of
riches, was soon followed by dependent multitudes. The salvation of the
common people was purchased at an easy rate, if it be true that in one
year twelve thousand men were baptized at Rome, besides a proportionable
number of women and children; and that a white garment, with twenty pieces
of gold, had been promised by the emperor to every convert.
Under all these circumstances it is small wonder if men exclaimed as
Augustine did somewhat later in his commentary on St. John--"How many seek
Jesus only that He may benefit them in earthly matters! One man has a law
suit, so he seeks the intercession of the clergy; another is oppressed by
his superior, so he takes refuge in the Church. Others are seeking, one
in this way and another in that, to be interceded for in some quarter
where they have but little influence themselves. The Church is daily full
of such persons. Seldom is Jesus sought for Jesus' sake!" After nicely
balancing the possibility and probability of those who came into the
Church for present worldly advantage being converted in time to a true
faith in the Christian religion, Neander says: "Beyond all doubt the
number was far greater of those who grew hardened in that worldly sense by
which from the first they had profaned a holy profession, and who were
thus the means of introducing into the Church a great mass of corruption."
"Unhappily," he adds, "there were bishops whose only wish was to make
the conversion to Christianity a right easy thing for the pagans. * * *
Hence they baptized even those who lived in open sin, and who plainly
enough manifested that it was not their purpose to forsake it. They
imagined that when these were only baptized and introduced into the
fellowship of the Church, it was then time enough to admonish them against
sin." Surely it was not difficult among such a mass of unconverted
members thus brought into the Church to find elements that would foster
the errors, both in ethics and in doctrine, which about this time arose in
the Church. It is small wonder that it was well nigh publicly adopted in
this age--as we are informed by Mosheim--"That to deceive and lie is a
virtue when religion can be promoted by it, and that error in religion
ought to be visited with penalties and punishments." The first of these
evils resulted in the accumulation of that mass of myth and fable that
burdens the annals of the dark ages; the second established the "holy
inquisition," alike the shame of the Roman Catholic church and the
so-called Christian civilization she has influenced. "It is almost
incredible," continues Mosheim, speaking of the first evil referred to,
"what a mass of the most insipid fables, and what a host of pious
falsehoods have, through all the centuries, grown out of it, to the great
detriment of true religion. If some inquisitive person were to examine
the conduct and the writings of the great and most pious teachers of this
century, I fear he would find about all of them infected with this
leprosy." "Those idle fictions," he adds, "which a regard for the
Platonic philosophy, and for the prevailing opinions of the day had
induced most theologians to embrace, even before the time of Constantine,
were now in various ways confirmed, extended and embellished. Hence it is
that we see, on every side, evident traces of excessive veneration for
departed saints; of a purifying fire for the soul when separated from the
body; of the celibacy of the clergy; of the worship of images and relics;
and of many other opinions, which in process of time almost banished the
true religion, or"--and here the Doctor perhaps remembered that he was a
Protestant and that his position as such would not admit of conceding the
utter subversion of the Christian religion, and hence added--"or at least
very much obscured and corrupted it." "Genuine piety" he continues, "was
supplanted by a long train of superstitious observances which originated
partly from opinions inconsiderately embraced, partly from a preposterous
disposition to adopt profane rites and combine them with Christian
worship, and partly from the natural predilections of mankind in general
for a splendid and ostentatious religion."
The Loss of Spiritual Gifts.
Not only did the moral declensions in the Church, which started soon
after the demise of the Apostles, proceed with accelerated pace after
Constantine became the patron of the Church, and with such resulting evils
as I have pointed out, but there was a like declension in the enjoyment of
spiritual gifts in the Church. It is well known that the Apostles
promised the Holy Ghost to those who received the Gospel, and the
enjoyment of those supernatural gifts which go with it. Indeed Jesus
Himself said in His last commission to His disciples:
Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he
that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe in my name: they shall cast out devils; they shall
speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands
on the sick, and they shall recover.
Paul, in speaking of the spiritual gifts promised in the Gospel says:
Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. And
there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And
there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which
worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the
word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing
by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another
prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another diverse kinds
of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these
worketh by that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as he will.
It is well known that the spiritual gifts here enumerated were
enjoyed by the saints in the early Christian centuries; and especially in
Apostolic times. The New Testament books are replete with reference to
the enjoyment of these gifts of the Spirit among the saints. Nor is there
any intimation of the discontinuance of them. On the contrary it is
reasonable to conclude that so long as the saints shall continue in the
enjoyment of the Holy Ghost, that long also will they enjoy the spiritual
gifts which proceed from a possession of Him. Moreover, "the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Such
are the effects of the operations of the Holy Ghost upon the nature of
man. These fruits of the Spirit indicate the change that the Spirit of
God may effect in human nature; by which that which is corrupted through
sin may be conformed to that which is pure and holy, according to the
working whereby the Spirit is able to subdue all things unto Himself, in
them that give place for His indwelling in their souls. This effectual
working of the Spirit in the souls of men, by which they were transformed
from vileness to holiness, was the boast of the early saints. And, upon
reflection, all will concede that the victories of the Spirit in reforming
the lives of men and making them in their very nature conform to the
likeness of Christ in righteousness, are more to be desired and more to be
celebrated than those victories which are physical or intellectual merely
in their nature. Indeed these latter fruits of the Spirit derive their
chief value from the extent to which they contribute to the production of
the former--that is, to the extent that they establish men in the faith,
enable them to crucify the flesh with the lusts thereof, and help them to
live in harmony with the sweet influence of the Spirit of God. When men
live in harmony with that Spirit there will righteousness obtain; there
will love abound; there will the Gospel of Christ appear triumphant.
Where these fruits do not appear, there the Gospel of Christ is not; there
the powers of darkness, for the time being, are triumphant. Yet
notwithstanding this promise, concerning the enjoyment of the spiritual
gifts of the Gospel, the evidence is abundant and conclusive that when all
the Apostles were deceased, then there was a marked declension in the
manifestation of the spiritual powers of the Gospel. "With the close of
the New Testament records," says Dr. Phillip Smith, author of The
Students' Ecclesiastical History, "and the death of the last surviving
Apostle, the history of the Church passes from its sacred to its purely
human phase. The miraculous gifts which attested the divine mission of
the Apostles ceased; not indeed by any formal record of their withdrawal,
but by the clear evidence that they were possessed no longer.
Dr. Jortin bears witness to the same fact. He says:
The words of Eusebius intimate that he thought those
extraordinary powers to be, at least, not very common afterwards--[i.
e., the beginning of the second century]. "They went about," says
he, "with God's co-operative grace, for even then the divine Spirit
performed many miracles by them." * * * This brings the probability
of miracles down to the beginning of the second century, in the
middle of which Justin Martyr says: "There are prophetic gifts among
us even until now:" and amongst these gifts he reckons up miraculous
powers, as healing the sick, casting out evil spirits, etc. His
words imply an opinion that such gifts were not only exercised in his
time, but had been continued down to his time, and he may be justly
supposed to speak the sense of his contemporary Christians; and that
is all that I cite him for. It seems probable that if we had a full
and authentic history of the propagation of the Gospel, from the time
of the Apostles to the middle of the second century, composed by eye
witnesses and by the preachers of Christianity, we should find
miracles wrought for the conversion of the pagans. But from A. D. 70
to 150 is a dark interval, and we have very short accounts of the
transactions of those days, unless we should accept of groundless
rumors and frivolous tales.
So, also, Dr. Mosheim, speaking of the second century, and after
commenting on the extent to which the extraordinary divine gifts
contributed to the extension of the limits of the Church, says: "The gift
of foreign tongues appears to have gradually ceased, as soon as many
nations became enlightened with the truth; * * * but the other gifts with
which God favored the rising Church of Christ, were, as we learn from
numerous testimonies of the ancients, still conferred upon particular
persons here and there." And when writing of the fourth and succeeding
centuries, he, too, bears witness of the declension, and final cessation
of these spiritual powers among the Christians; and, indeed, the most of
our ecclesiastical writers form the same conclusion.
Thus the Christians lost the enjoyment of the spiritual gifts of the
Gospel, such as inspired dreams, prophecies, healings, speaking in new
tongues, ministering of angels, and, most to be lamented of all, direct
revelation from God, by which the will of God might be made known to His
people and his Church preserved from error, from decadence, and from
destruction: and by the absence of these spiritual gifts and powers among
the Christians of the third and fourth centuries, we may know that a mere
man-made religion, having indeed a form of godliness but denying the power
thereof, had succeeded to the spiritually gifted religion, of Jesus
Christ, wherein the power of God is ever present and outwardly as well as
inwardly manifested.
Departure of "Christendom" from the True Doctrine of Deity.
In nothing perhaps was there a wider departure from the real truth of
Christianity than in the doctrine concerning God defined by the general
council of the Church held within the lifetime of Constantine, and which,
in fact, he assembled upon his own authority. This was the celebrated
Council of Nicea, in Bithynia, Asia Minor, held in 325 A. D. The main
purpose for which the first general Council of the Church was assembled
was to settle a dispute between one Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, and
his bishop, Alexander, of the same city, respecting the doctrine of the
Godhead. The dispute proved to be far-reaching in its effects, and for
three hundred years the rivalry of the contending factions disturbed the
peace of Christendom. We shall have clearer conceptions of the subject,
however, and be better able to judge of the extent to which there was a
departure from the true doctrine respecting the Godhead, by the
definitions formulated and enforced upon the Church by the council of
Nicea, if we first consider the doctrine of the Godhead as found in the
Testament.
The Christian Doctrine of God.
The existence of God both Jesus and the Apostles accepted as a fact.
In all the teachings of the former He nowhere seeks to prove God's
existence. He assumes that, and proceeds from that basis with His
doctrine. He declares the fact that God was His Father, and frequently
calls Himself the Son of God. After His resurrection and departure into
heaven, the Apostles taught that He, the Son of God, was with God the
Father in the beginning: that He, as well as the Father, was God; that
under the direction of the Father He was the Creator of worlds; that
without him was not anything made that was made. That in him dwelt all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and that He was the express image of
the Father's person. Jesus Himself taught that He and the Father were
one; that whosoever had seen Him had seen the Father also; that it was
part of His mission to reveal God, the Father, through His own
personality; for as was the Son, so too was the Father. Hence Jesus was
God manifested in flesh--a revelation of God to the world. That is, a
revelation, not only of the being of God, but of the kind of being God is.
Jesus also taught (and in doing so showed in what the "oneness" of
Himself and His Father consisted) that the disciples might be one with
Him, and also one with each other, as He and the Father were one. Not
one in person--not all merged into one individual, and all distinctions of
personality lost; but one in mind, in knowledge, in love, in will--one by
reason of the indwelling in all of the one spirit, even as the mind and
will of God the Father was also in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost, too, was upheld by the Christian religion to be God.
Jesus ascribed to Him a distinct personality; as proceeding from the
Father; as sent forth in the name of the Son, as feeling love;
experiencing grief; as forbidding; as abiding; as teaching; as bearing
witness; as appointing to work; and as interceding for men. All of which
clearly establishes for Him a personality.
The distinct personality of these three individual Gods (united
however into one Godhead, or Divine Council), was made apparent at the
baptism of Jesus; for as He, God the Son, came up out of the water from
His baptism at the hands of John, a manifestation of the presence of the
Holy Ghost was given in the sign of the dove which rested upon Jesus,
while out of the glory of heaven the voice of God the Father was heard
saying, "This," referring to Jesus, "is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." The distinctness of the personality of each member of the
Godhead is also shown by the commandment to baptize those who believe this
Gospel equally in the name of each person of the Holy Trinity. That is,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And
again, also, in the Apostolic benediction, viz., "The grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be
with you all."
These three personages constitute the Christian Godhead the Holy
Trinity. In early Christian theology they were regarded as the Supreme
Governing and Creating Power in heaven and in earth. Of which Trinity the
Father was worshiped in the name of the Son, while the Holy Ghost bore
record of both the Father and the Son. And though the Holy Trinity was
made all of three distinct persons, yet did they constitute but one
Godhead, or Supreme Governing Power.
This outline of the doctrine of God derived from the New Testament
represents Him as anthropomorphic; that is, like a man in form; or,
rather, it re-affirms the old doctrine found in the book of Genesis, viz.,
that man is created in the image of God, and after His likeness. The
outline of New Testament doctrine of God also ascribes to Him what are
called human attributes and feelings; but as in the foregoing we first say
that God is represented as being in human form, and then to get the exact
truth say: "Or, rather, man was created in the image and likeness of
God," so in this latter case, when we have said that the doctrine of the
New Testament ascribes human attributes and feelings to God, to get the
exact truth we should say: "Or, rather, man possesses the attributes of
God"--the attributes of knowing, willing, judging, loving, etc.--though it
should be stated, of course, that man does not possess these attributes in
their perfection, as God does. The same may also be said of the physical
perfections. While man has been created in the image and likeness of God,
yet our bodies in their present state of imperfection--sometimes stunted
in growth, diseased, subject to sickness, wasting decay, and death--cannot
be said to be like God's glorious, perfect physical body, yet we have the
Divine word that our bodies shall be like His:
"For our conversation is in heaven: from whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to
the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself."
So also the attributes of the spirit of man--the attributes of the
mind now imperfect, impure, unholy, and limited in the range of vision and
apprehension of things, owing largely to the conditions in which man finds
himself placed in this earth-life (and all for a wise purpose in God's
economy); yet the time will come that it will be with the spirit as with
the body; for God shall change our vile spirit that it may be fashioned
like unto His own glorious spirit, "according to the working whereby He is
able even to subdue all things unto Himself." That whereas now we see
only as through a glass, darkly, then we shall see as we are seen: that
whereas now we know but in part, then we shall know even as we are known.
The foregoing doctrine of God, taught to the Christians in Apostolic
times, awakened their pious reverence without exciting their curiosity.
They dealt with no metaphysical abstractions, but were contented to accept
the teachings of the Apostles in humble faith, and believed that Jesus
Christ was the complete manifestation of Deity, and the express image of
God His Father; and hence a revelation to them of God; while the Holy
Ghost they accepted as God's witness and messenger to them.
Paganization of the Christian Doctrine of God.
But Christianity, as is well known, came in contact with other
doctrines concerning Deity. It was almost immediately brought in touch
with the mysticism of the Orient and also with the philosophy of the
Greeks, who took so much delight in intellectual subtleties. In the
Oriental philosophies, and in the Greek, there was conceived the idea of a
trinity in Deity; an idea which possibly may have come down from the
doctrines revealed to the patriarchs concerning the Godhead, but which had
been corrupted and rendered unintelligible by the vain philosophizings of
men. In some of the Oriental systems the trinity or Trimurti consisted of
Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Siva, the Destroyer. It
will be seen, however, that this trinity is not necessarily one of
persons, or individuals, but may be one of attributes, qualities, or even
a trinity of functions in one being; and in this way it is usually
understood.
Plato's trinity is sometimes stated in the terms, "First Cause;
Reason, or Logos; and Soul of the Universe;" but more commonly in these:
"Goodness, Intellect, and Will." The nature of the Greek trinity has long
been a matter of contention among the learned, and one indeed that is not
settled to this day. Is there indicated in his system "a true and proper
tri-personality, or merely a personification of three impersonalities," a
trinity of attributes or functions? The answers to these questions are
varied, and would require too much space for consideration here.
Christians having been taught to accept the New Testament doctrine of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit as constituting one Godhead, Christianity no
sooner came in contact with the philosophies of the Greeks and Egyptians
than there was an effort made to identify the Christian trinity with that
of the Greek and other philosophies. The temptation to do this was very
great. Christianity was a proscribed religion and its followers detested.
Whenever it could be sown, therefore, that under new symbols the Church
really taught the same doctrines that the old philosophers, which were
held in esteem, did, it was regarded as a distinct gain to Christianity.
The mere fact of Christianity teaching a trinity of any kind was a
sufficient basis of comparison, under the temptation offered, and hence in
a short time we have the alleged followers of Christ involved in all the
metaphysical disputations of the age. The chief difficulty in those
speculations was to define the nature of the Logos, or Word of God: a
title that is given to our Savior by the Apostle St. John, be it
remembered. Adopting absolute "being" as the postulate of their
conception of God, absolute oneness, and therefore absolute singleness,
their difficulties arose in trying to reconcile the existence of three
persons in the Godhead to the postulate of unity. The disputations were
carried on chiefly concerning Christ, the "Word," in His relationship to
the Godhead: and the disputants concerned themselves with such questions
as these: "Is Jesus the Word?" "If he be the word, did He emanate from
God in time or before time?" "If He emanated from God, is He co-eternal
and of the same, that is identical, substance with Him, or merely of a
similar substance?" "Is He distinct from the Father, that is, separate
from Him, or is He not?" "Is He made or begotten?" "Can He beget in
return?" "Has He paternity, or productive virtue without paternity?"
Similar questions were asked as to the other Person of the Godhead, the
Holy Spirit. These questions were violently agitated at Alexandria by the
bishop of that city, Alexander, and one of the presbyters, Arius, 318-321
A. D.; thence spread throughout Christendom, and culminated finally in the
Council at Nicea, 325 A. D. Arius held the doctrine that Logos or Word
was a dependent or spontaneous production created out of nothing by the
will of the Father, Hence the Son of God, by whom all things were made,
begotten before all worlds; but there had been a time when the Logos was
not; and also He was of a substance, however similar it might be,
different from the Father. This doctrine, in the minds of the opponents
of Arius, detracted from the divine nature of Christ, in fact, denied Him
true Deity and relegated Him to the position of a creature, against which
the piety of a large number of Christians rebelled. After six years of
hot disputation and frequent appeals by the contestants to the emperor,
the council of Nicea was assembled and the mysteries of the Christian
faith submitted to public debate, a portion of the time, at least, in the
presence of the emperor, who, to some extent, seemed to exercise the
functions of president over the assembly. The doctrine of Arius was
condemned, and after "long deliberations, among struggles, and scrupulous
examinations," the following creed was adopted:
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of all
things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, only begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the
Father God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not
made, being of the same substance with the Father, by whom all things
were made in heaven and in earth, who for us men and for our
salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, was made man,
suffered, rose again the third day, ascended into the heavens, and He
will come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Ghost.
Those who say there was a time when He was not, and He was not before
He was begotten, and He was made of nothing (he was created), or who
say that He is of another hypostatis, or of another substance (than
the Father), or that the Son of God is created, that he is mutable,
or subject to change, the Catholic church anathematizes.
Arius himself was condemned as a heretic and banished into one of the
remote provinces, Ilyricum, his friends and disciples branded by law, with
the odius name of "Porphyrians," because it is supposed that Arius, like
Porphyry, had sought to injure Christianity. His writings were condemned
to the flames and a capital punishment was pronounced against those in
whose possession they should be found. Three years later, however,
through the influence of the women at the imperial court, Constantine
softened in his demeanor towards Arius and his followers. The exiles were
recalled and Arius himself was received at court and his faith approved by
a synod of prelates and presbyters at Jerusalem; but on the day that he
was to be publicly received in the cathedral church at Constantinople, by
the order of the emperor, who, by the way, received the sacrament at the
hands of Arius, he expired under circumstances which have led many to
believe that other means than the prayers of the orthodox against him were
the cause of his death. The leaders of the orthodox party, Athanasius of
Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Paul of Constantinople, were now to
feel the wrath of the first Christian emperor. They were deposed on
various occasions and by the sentence of numerous councils, and banished
into distant provinces. In fact, so far from the adoption of the Nicene
creed ending the conflict which had arisen, it was more like the opening
of that controversy which agitated Christendom for so long, and resulted
in so many shameful conflicts. Councils were arrayed against councils,
and though they never could convince one another of error, they never
failed, in the spirit of such Christian charity as was then extant, to
close their decrees with curses. Votes were bartered for and purchased in
those councils, and facts justify the latent sarcasm in Gibbon's remark,
that "the cause of truth and justice was promoted by the influence of
gold." There were persecutions and counter-persecutions, as now one party
and then the other prevailed: there were assassinations and bloody
battles over this doctrine of Deity, the accounts of which fill, as they
also disgrace, our Christian annals. The creed which was adopted at
Nicea, however, became the settled doctrine of orthodox Christendom, and
remains so to this day.
It is difficult to determine which is really the worst, the creed
itself or the explanations of it. At any rate, we do not clearly see the
impiety of its doctrines until we listen to the explanations that have
been made of it. Athanasius himself has left on record a creed
explanatory of the one adopted at Nicea. True, among the learned, many
doubt Athanasius being the author of the creed which bears his name; but,
however much doubt may be thrown upon that question, no one hesitates to
accept it as the orthodox explanation of the doctrine of Deity, and, in
fact, it is accepted as one of the important symbols of the Christian
faith, and is as follows:
We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither
confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one
person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy
Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is all one;
the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such
is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son
uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible,
the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The
Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet
there are not three eternals but one eternal. As also there are not
three incomprehensibles nor three uncreate, but one uncreate and one
incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son
almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty; and yet they are not three
almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God,
and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one
God.
As already stated, this creed of St. Athanasius is accepted as one of
the symbols of the orthodox Christian faith. It is understood that these
two creeds teach that God is incorporeal, that is to say, an immaterial
being. The Catholic church says; "There is but one God, the creator of
heaven and earth, the supreme incorporeal, uncreated being who exists of
Himself and is infinite in all his attributes." While the Church of
England teaches in her articles of faith "that there is but one living and
true God everlasting, without body, parts, or passions, of infinite
power, wisdom and goodness." This view of God as an incorporeal,
immaterial, bodiless, partless, passionless being is now and has been from
the days of the great apostasy from God and Christ, in the second and
third centuries, the doctrine of Deity generally accepted by apostate
Christendom. The simple doctrine of the Christian Godhead, set forth in
the New Testament is corrupted by the meaningless jargon of these creeds,
and their explanations; and the learned who profess a belief in them are
wandering in the darkness of the mysticisms of the old pagan philosophies.
No wonder that Athanasius himself, whom Gibbon with a quiet sarcasm calls
the most sagacious of the Christian theologians, candidly confessed that
whenever he forced his understanding to mediate on the divinity of the
Logos (and which, of course, involved the whole doctrine of the Godhead),
his "toilsome and unavailing efforts recoiled on themselves: and the more
he thought, the less he comprehended: and the more he wrote, the less
capable was he of expressing his thoughts!" It is a fine passage with
which Gibbon closes his reflections upon this subject, and hence I shall
give it place here:
In every step of the inquiry, we are compelled to feel and
acknowledge the immeasurable disproportion between the size of the
object and the capacity of the human mind. We may try to abstract
the notions of time, of space, and of matter, which so closely adhere
to all the perceptions of our experimental knowledge; but as soon as
we presume to reason of infinite substance, or spiritual generation;
as often as we deduce any positive conclusions from a negative idea,
we are involved in darkness, perplexity, and inevitable
contradiction.
Recurrence to the New Testament doctrine of God, and a comparison of
it with the doctrine of Deity set forth in the Nicean and Athanasian
creeds, will exhibit the wide departure--the absolute apostasy--that has
taken place in respect of this most fundamental of all doctrines of
religion--the doctrine of God. Truly "Christians" have denied the Lord
that bought them, and turned literally to fables. They have enthroned a
conception of a negative idea of "being," which can stand in no possible
relationship to man, nor man to it; and to this they ascribe divine
attributes and give it title, knee and adoration which belong to God
alone. Small wonder that the angel whom John saw flying in the midst of
heaven having the everlasting Gospel to commit to the earth in the hour of
God's judgment, in the last days, should cry aloud to the inhabitants of
the earth, saying, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; * * * and worship him
that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters"--small wonder, I repeat, that such should be part of this great
message, for truly the whole world had departed from the worship of the
true and living God.
The Church of Christ Displaced by the Churches of Men.
The departure from the form and spirit of church government was no
less marked than the moral and spiritual declension among the Christians
of the early centuries of the era, or the departure from the true doctrine
of Deity. Beyond filling the vacancy in the council of the Twelve
Apostles, occasioned by the fall of Judas, there is no clear and
satisfactory evidence that other successors of the Apostles were ever
chosen, though the fair implication is that the organization of the Church
with Apostles, Prophets, Evangelism, Seventies, Bishops, Teachers, etc.,
was to be perpetuated as at first established. At least this organization
was given for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
until the saints should come to a unity of the faith and the knowledge of
the Son of God; so that the plain inference is that so long as there are
saints to be perfected, or edified, or united, or brought to the knowledge
of God; so long as there is work for a ministry, or the necessity of a
Church through the agency of which the truth is to be taught to the world
so long it will be necessary to perpetuate the organization given of God
for the achievement of those high purposes. To say that man could devise
a better organization for the accomplishment of these several objects
would be to challenge the wisdom of God. To say that any of these means
provided in the Church organization could be dispensed with, would be to
contradict the plain teaching of scripture, which, in this very connection
forbids the eye to say to the hand, I have no need of thee; or the head to
the feet, I have no need of you; that is, one officer of the Church may
not say to another officer, I have no need of thee. The doctrine of
scripture is that all the officers of the Church together with their
several gifts are essential to the Church of Christ; essential to its
perfection: essential to the performance of the sacred functions assigned
to it. Yet it must be conceded that the organization described in the New
Testament did not survive the last of the Apostles; or preserve much
beyond that time, the spirit which the Master had impressed upon it.
The Apostles, while they lived, exercised a general jurisdiction over
the Church, to which all submitted without question. In the exercise of
their general authority they organized branches of the Church, appointed
Elders or Bishops to take the oversight of them, and instructed them in
Church government, and discipline, and doctrine. After the demise of the
Apostles, there seems to have been left no central authority to exercise
the functions of general supervision or presidency over the entire Church,
such as the Twelve had exercised. That center of unity, together with the
power thereof, seems to have vanished from the Church with the Apostles.
The bishops and some subordinate officers remained, it is true, but these
were local, not general authorities. The Church in each city or district
or country after the Apostolic age, seems to have been regarded as a sort
of independent republic of itself, without any bond of consociation with
any other church beyond that which was the result of possessing a common
faith in Christianity, which bond was one of sympathy merely, not of
hierarchal association. The rise of the hierarchy with the centralization
of its powers in the bishop of Rome, and which ultimately dominated the
whole Church, and not only the Church but, directly or indirectly, the
western civilized world, came later, and was of gradual development: and
when it was finally established, it was not the organization described in
the New Testament, the Church with an inspired priesthood of Apostles, and
Prophets, Evangelists, Seventies, and Pastors, etc., but a hierarchy
fashioned by man out of such remnants of Church organization as survived
Apostolic times. As the number of Christians increased, the bishops of
large cities organized new branches of the Church in the suburbs of their
cities, and in the towns and villages adjacent, and ordained for them a
ministry. It was but natural perhaps that the officers of these new
branches of the Church, both the bishops and the subordinate clergy,
should look to the one who had brought them into existence as a sort of
general presiding authority over them. And hence, in time arose what were
called metropolitan bishops, bishops who had under their direction the
bishops of neighboring towns and villages--bishops of the "suburbs and the
fields," they were sometimes called--and perhaps of the entire province of
which the metropolitan city was recognized as the center. As the bishops
of the metropolis of a province, in the manner described, became the
center of ecclesiastical unity for that province, so, too, in time, the
bishops of cities which were the capitals of the three great divisions of
the empire--Antioch, Alexandria and Rome--asserted a superior dignity over
metropolitan bishops. It was in these cities that the exarchs of the
empire resided, and if we may trust the authority of Neander, the bishops
of these cities also, at first, took that title, but later made choice of
the more ecclesiastical name of Patriarch. In addition to the importance
attached to these cities as the capitals of the great divisions of the
empire, a superior dignity in the minds of Christians attached to the
Churches founded by the Apostles as the surest depositories of the
Apostolic teaching and doctrine; and as Apostolic origin could be claimed
for the churches in the three cities named, it is not surprising, when
their political importance is added, that the bishops of those cities
claimed superior dignity for their office, and united under their
jurisdiction the metropolitan bishops of the respective three great
divisions of the empire. Subsequently the same title was granted to the
bishop of Jerusalem, and to the bishop of Constantinople; to the former it
was granted in virtue of the peculiar sanctity which attaches to
Jerusalem, and the fact that the first Christian Church was planted there;
to the latter, because it was made the capital of the empire, "New Rome;"
and because also it was peculiarly the city of the first imperial patron
of Christianity. Thus five patriarchates were established.
"Through circumstances too numerous and intricate to detail here, the
bishops of Rome changed the primacy of mere precedence which had been
accorded them among associated brethren, to a primacy of power and
jurisdiction, which resulted in the bishops of Rome becoming recognized as
the supreme head of the Christian Church, and the papacy entered upon that
marvelous career which by the impartial can but be regarded as the shame
of the Christian name.
Attention has already been called to the corruptions which prevailed
in that period of peace in the closing decades of the third century, where
bishops are represented as being full of pride and ostentation: as
deserting the law of piety and being inflamed against each other with
mutual strifes, only accumulating quarrels, threats, rivalships,
hostilities, hatred towards each other, and only anxious to assert the
Church government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves. And all this
when Christianity was a proscribed religion; and when the Church, and
especially its leaders, the bishops, were liable to severest persecution.
Reason and a due consideration of human nature both combined to fix upon
us the conviction that the bitterness of rivalry, of hatred, of ambition,
must have greatly increased when metropolitan and patriarchal bishops,
formerly proscribed and hunted like wild beasts, rose to the dignity of
evil princes, and took upon them more and ever more of the spirit of
worldliness as wealth and honor and popular applause were made the
accompaniments of their ecclesiastical offices. History confirms what
reason and a knowledge of human nature suggests; for the history of the
Church after the elevation of proscribed Christianity to the dignity of
the state religion of the Roman empire, is but the melancholy history of
unholy ambitions, jealousies, strifes, contentions, murders, and wars
between rival bishops and their adherents, on the one hand; and equally
unholy struggles for worldly advantages with kings and rulers of this
world, on the other. The spirit that actuated the bishops of the Church
after their elevation through the policy of Constantinople's admirably
illustrated by a remark of Gregory of Nazianzus, made in Constantinople,
380 A. D., when deploring the evils of the Church. He says:
Would to heaven there were no primacy, no eminence of place, and
no tyrannical precedence of rank; that we might be known by eminence
of virtue alone! But, as the case now stands, the distinction of a
seat at the right hand or the left, or in the middle; at a bigger or
a lower place; of going before or aside of each other, has given rise
to many disorders among us, to no salutary purpose whatsoever and
plunged multitudes in ruin.
Matters in Church government did not mend with time, but grew worse
and worse. Pride increased: rivalship between contending prelates grew
more embittered; ambition mounted higher and ever higher in the breasts of
the shepherds of the flock of Christ. In his association with his
Apostles--to whom he committed the keys of His kingdom--the Master had
discouraged ambition and had said that he who would be great among his
followers must be their minister: and whosoever would be chief among
them, was to be their servant; and the government of His Church was to be
distinct in these particulars from the governments of this world. But
all in vain were the instructions of Messiah to the worldly, ambitious
prelates of an apostate Christianity which had gradually supplanted the
religion of Jesus Christ; and henceforth we may see in that hierarchy
which usurped the place of the Church of Christ from the time of
Constantine, all the spirit of pride, envy, jealousy, contention, strife,
selfishness, bitterness, and unholy ambition which characterized the
princes and rulers of this world, attended, too, with all the evils that
wait upon these passions of rulers when once let loose, viz., secret
plottings, usurpations of authority, corrupt elections, cruel
imprisonments, banishments, secret and public murders, and wars: all
undertaken, of course in the interest of the gentle religion of Jesus
Christ, and the maintenance of that authority which is based on love, and
whose control over men is through the means of persuasion and the teaching
of true knowledge. Is it not evident that the kingdom of peace, wherein
was to dwell righteousness and truth, had become merely one of the
kingdoms of this world? And were not the Fratriceli of the thirteenth
century, though denounced as heretics, right when they loudly proclaimed
their conviction that "the fatal gift of a Christian emperor had been the
doom of the true Christian religion?"
The Testimony of Prophecy to the Universal Apostasy.
Clear as the fact is made in this historical view that there was a
complete and universal apostasy from the religion established in the
Dispensation of the Meridian of Time: and clear as is the proof from the
same review that the Church of Christ then established was destroyed,
there is yet another line of evidence pointing to the same solemn fact
that I can not altogether omit, though often used in our literature, viz.,
the testimony of prophecy to the apostasy from the Christian religion, and
the destruction of the Church of Christ.
The Apostles themselves through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost
were fully aware that such an apostasy would take place, as the following
several predictions bear witness: Paul passing through Ephesus admonished
the Elders of that Church to take heed to the flock "over which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers; * * * for I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away disciples after them."
To Timothy Paul said: "The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having
their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry and
commanding to abstain from meats." And again: "I charge thee, * * *
preach the word: be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine: but after their own lusts they shall
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away
their ears from the truth: and shall be turned unto fables."
And still again he said to Timothy: "This know also, that in the
last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a
form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Peter's prophecy concerning the rise of false teachers among the
saints, who privately would bring in damnation heresies, even denying the
Lord who bought them, and by reason of whom the way of truth would be evil
spoken of, we have already quoted.
Paul in his second epistle to the Thessalonians gives utterance to a
prophecy which covers the whole ground of the absolute and universal
apostasy of Christendom. A prophecy which, if the apostasy of so-called
Christendom has not been complete and universal, proves beyond all
question that the great Apostle of the Gentiles is a false prophet; or if
fulfilled, then it proves that the Church of Christ, so far as it existed
in the earth was to be destroyed; that another and different religion was
to be substituted for the Christian religion; that another church, one
founded by men, was to take the place of the Church of Christ, a worldly
church dominated by the very spirit of Lucifer, who, under its rule, would
oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God; and sit in the
temple of God showing himself, so far as this world is concerned, that he
is God. Moreover Paul declared in this very prophecy I am about to quote
that the forces which would ultimately bring to pass this universal
apostasy from the Christian religion--"the mystery of iniquity--" was
already at work even in his day. With this introduction, which is also to
be considered as my comment upon and interpretation of the passage, I
quote Paul's great prediction on the universal Apostasy:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor
by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at band. Let no
man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
Son of Perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not,
that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
(hindereth) will let (hinder), until he be taken out of the way. And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all
power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they receive not the
love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.
A more ancient prophet than Paul also predicted a like condition of
the world in the last days: "Behold," says Isaiah, "the Lord maketh the
earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and
scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the
people, so with the priest, * * * The land shall be utterly emptied, and
utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth
and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people
of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants
thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,
broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the
earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left."
Clearly all this prophecy of Isaiah's has not yet been fulfilled; for
the earth, however much it may have been defiled under the inhabitants
thereof, has not yet been burned, and but few men left. That is a
judgment that still hangs over the world; and will come upon it as sure as
the Lord has spoken the word; and that, too, because men have transgressed
the laws: because they have changed the ordinances, because they have
broken--not the covenant made with Moses, or with Abraham--but because
they have broken the everlasting covenant; of which covenant the blood of
Christ is the sign and seal. In other words, they have broken the Gospel
covenant--departed from the Gospel faith--hence the predicted judgment.
If I did not think these two great prophecies foretold completely the
universal apostasy of Christendom, I should be tempted to enter into the
consideration of the great prophecies to be found in the book of Daniel
and the book of Revelation, and show how to both of these prophets, as
well as unto Paul and other New Testament writers, the Lord revealed the
rise of an earth power that would not only open his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme His name and them who dwell in heaven: who
would speak great words against the Most High, and so magnify himself as
to stand up against the Prince of princes--but who would also make war
with the saints and "prevail against them;" who would "wear out the
saints of the Most High:" "destroy the mighty and the holy people;"
"make war with the saints and overcome them." But believing that the two
Passages quoted at length entirely cover the subject prophetically, I
shall not here enter into further prophetic proofs either as to the
corruptions of the Christian religion or the destruction of the Christian
Church, deeming that what has already been set forth sufficient on that
head.
Conclusion
The sum of the whole matter is:--The purpose of man's creation, and
the plan of his redemption, were known to God and the immense host of the
spirits of men before the creation of the earth. Adam came to the new
creation, the earth, under the divine commandment to people it with his
offspring. From Adam to Messiah numerous dispensations of the Gospel were
given to men; but these dispensations were limited in their
effectiveness, owing to the proneness of men to reject the truth, and to
walk in darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Yet God
left not Himself without witnesses in the earth; for there were a few in
all dispensations who honored Him and His righteous laws. Finally, when
the appointed time was come, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, came and
made the appointed Atonement for the sins of the world and brought men
under the dominion of His mercy. He taught the Gospel; He brought life
and immortality to light; He brought into existence His Church, and then
ascended on high to His Father. For a time the Gospel in its purity was
preached in the world by the chosen Apostles, though even in their day men
began to mar it with their vain philosophies, their doctrines of science,
falsely so called; and when the Apostles were all fallen asleep, then
corruptions ran riot in the Church, doctrines of men were taught for the
commandments of God! a church made by men was substituted for the Church
of Christ; a church full of pride and worldliness; a church which while it
clung to forms of godliness ran riot in excesses and abominations--until
spiritual darkness fell like a pall over the nations; and thus they lay
for ages. In vain men sought to establish reforms, and through them bring
back the religion of Jesus Christ, and the Church of Christ. To do that,
however, was beyond the power of these men, however good their intentions.
The Gospel taken from the earth, divine authority lost, the Church of
Christ destroyed, there was but one way in which all these could be
restored, viz.: By re-opening the heavens and dispensing again a
knowledge of the Gospel; by once more conferring divine authority upon
men, together with a commission to teach all the world, and re-establish
the Church of Christ on earth. In a word, it would require the incoming
of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times to restore all things, and
gather together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and in earth.
Such Dispensation is promised of God, as we have seen: and now it only
remains to add that the History of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, as set forth in these volumes, is the history of that
series of events which has resulted in the restoration of the Gospel in
its fullness, and the re-establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ on
earth.
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PERIOD I.
HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET
CHAPTER I. JOSEPH SMITH'S BIRTH AND LINEAGE--THE PROPHET'S FIRST
VISION--"THIS IS MY BELOVED SON."
OWING to the many reports which have been put in circulation by
evil-disposed and designing persons, in relation to the rise and progress
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of which have been
designed by the authors thereof to militate against its character as a
Church and its progress in the world--I have been induced to write this
history, to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquirers after truth
into possession of the facts, as they have transpired, in relation both to
myself and the Church, so far as I have such facts in my possession. In
this history I shall present the various events in relation to this
Church, in truth and righteousness, as they have transpired, or as they at
present exist, being now the eighth year since the organization of said
Church.
I was born in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
five, on the twenty-third day of December, in the town of Sharon, Windsor
county, state of Vermont. My father, Joseph Smith, was born July 12th,
1771, in Topsfield, Essex county, Massachusetts; his father, Asael Smith,
was born March 7th, 1744, in Topsfield, Massachusetts; his father, Samuel
Smith, was born January 26th, 1714, in Topsfield, Massachusetts; his
father, Samuel Smith, was born january 26th, 1666, in Topsfield,
Massachusetts; his father, Robert Smith, came from England. My father,
Joseph Smith, Senior, left the state of Vermont, and moved to Palmyra,
Ontario (now Wayne) county, in the state of New York, when I was in my
tenth year, or thereabouts. In about four years after my father's arrival
in Palmyra he moved with his family into Manchester, in the same county of
Ontario, his family consisting of eleven souls, namely--my father, Joseph
Smith, my mother, Lucy Smith, (whose name, previous to her marriage, was
Mack, daughter of Solomon Mack,) my brothers, Alvin, (who died November
19th, 1824, in the 27th year of his age,) Hyrum, myself, Samuel Harrison,
William, Don Carlos, and my sisters Sophronia, Catherine, and Lucy.
Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there
was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of
religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among
all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of
country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to
the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division
amongst the people, some crying, "Lo here!" and others, "Lo, there!" Some
were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and
some for the Baptist. For notwithstanding the great love which the
converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their
conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who
were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of
religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were
pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased--yet when the
converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was
seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts
were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad
feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and convert against
convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had
any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.
I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was
proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church,
namely--my mother Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my
sister Sophronia. During this time of great excitement, my mind was
called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but, though my
feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all
these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as
occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial
to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but
so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations,
that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted
with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and
who was wrong. My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult
were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against
the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and
sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think
they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in
their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own
tenets and disprove all others.
In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often
said to myself, what is to be done? Who of all these parties are right;
or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is
it, and how shall I know it? While I was laboring under the extreme
difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I
was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse,
which reads:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
Never did any passage of Scripture come with more power to the heart
of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great
force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again,
knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I
did not know and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would
never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood
the same passage of Scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence
in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At length I came to
the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or
else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to
the determination to "ask of God," concluding that if He gave wisdom to
them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I
might venture. So, in accordance with this, my determination to Ask God,
I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a
beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty.
It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for
amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray
vocally.
After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to
go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and
began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so,
when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame
me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so
that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed
to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting
all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this
enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to
sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary
ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had
such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this
moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above
the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon
me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy
which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the
air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said--pointing to
the other--
"THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM."
My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all
the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner,
therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than
I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the
sects was right--and which I should join. I was answered that I must join
none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me
said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight: that those
professors were all corrupt; that "they draw near to me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the
commandments of men: having a form of godliness, but they deny the power
thereof." He again forbade me to join with any of them: and many other
things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came
to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.
When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in
some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother
inquired what the matter was. I replied, "Never mind, all is well--I am
well enough off." I then said to my mother,--I have learned for myself
that Presbyterianism is not true."
It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of
my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his
kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why
the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my
infancy? Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in
company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the
before-mentioned religious excitement, and, conversing with him on the
subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision
which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my
communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying, it was
all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations
in these days; that all such things had ceased with the Apostles, and that
there would never be any more of them. I soon found, however, that my
telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among
professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which
continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between
fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to
make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would
take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a
bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects--all united to
persecute me.
It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very
strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of
age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty
maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of
sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the
most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit
of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it
was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. However, it
was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since,
that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa,
and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and
heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he
was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled.
But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a
vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not
make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he
knew, and would know to the last breath, that he had both seen a light,
and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him
think or believe otherwise. So it was with me. I had actually seen a
light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did
in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying
that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting
me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so
saying, I was led to say in my heart, Why persecute me for telling the
truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand
God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually
seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it,
and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so
doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.
I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was
concerned; that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to
continue as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of
James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and
obtain, and not be upbraided.
CHAPTER II. THE VISITATION OF MORONI--EXISTENCE OF THE BOOK
OF MORMON MADE KNOWN.
I CONTINUED to pursue my common vocation in life until the
twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three,
all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all classes of
men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to affirm that I
had seen a vision.
During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the
vision and the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three--having been
forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very
tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends,
and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to
have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed
me,--I was left to all kinds of temptations; and mingling with all kinds
of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the
weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to
say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In
making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or
malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But
I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company,
etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by
one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem very
strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my
native cheery temperament.
In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my
weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned
twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I
betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness
of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I
might know of my state and standing before Him; for I had full confidence
in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had done. While I
was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in
my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at
noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in
the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of
most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I
had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to
appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked and his
arms also, a little above the wrist, so, also were his feet naked, as were
his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I
could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was
open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe
exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description,
and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light,
but not so very bright as immediately around his person.
When first I looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left
me. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent
from the presence of God to me and that his name was Moroni; that God had
a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil
among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good
and evil spoken of among all people. He said there was a book deposited,
written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of
this continent, and the sources from whence they sprang. He also said
that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as
delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; also that there were
two stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a breastplate,
constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim--deposited with the
plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted
"Seers" in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the
purpose of translating the book.
After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of
the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi
and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though
with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of
quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for
they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of hosts, that it
shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus:
Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of
Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord.
He also quoted the next verse differently:
And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises
made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to
their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly
wasted at his coming.
In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,
saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third
chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they
stand in our New Testament. He said that that Prophet was Christ; but the
day had not yet come when "they who would not hear his voice should be cut
off from among the people," but soon would come. He also quoted the
second chapter of Joel, from the twenty eighth verse to the last. He also
said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further
stated that the fullness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted
many other passages of Scripture, and offered many explanations which
cannot be mentioned here.
Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had
spoken--for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled--I
should not show them to any person; neither the breast plate with the Urim
and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if
I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the
plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where
the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew
the place again when I visited it.
After this communication, I saw the light in the room began to gather
immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it
continued to do so, until the room was again left dark, except just around
me, when instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven,
and he ascended until he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it
had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance. I lay musing
on the singularity of the scene and marveling greatly at what had been
told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my
meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get
lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was
again by my bedside. He commenced, and again related the very same things
which he had done at the first visit, without the least variation; which
having done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the
earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence; and that
these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation.
Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before.
By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that
sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment at what
I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld
the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over
again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling
me that Satan would try to tempt me, (in consequence of the indigent
circumstances of my father's family,) to get the plates for the purpose of
getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object
in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be
influenced by any other motive than that of building His kingdom;
otherwise I could not get them. After this third visit, he again ascended
into heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness
of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after the heavenly
messenger had ascended from me the third time, the cock crowed, and I
found that day was approaching, so that our interviews must have occupied
the whole of that night.
I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, to the necessary
labors of the day; but in attempting to work as at other times, I found my
strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was
laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told
me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but,
in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my
strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a
time was quite unconscious of anything. The first thing that I can
recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up,
and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light
as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me
the previous night, and commanded me to go to my father and tell him of
the vision and commandments which I had received. I obeyed; I returned to
my father in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He replied
to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the
messenger. I left the field, and went to the place where the messenger
had told me the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of
the vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant
that I arrived there.
Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York,
stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the
neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under
a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box.
This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and
thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above
the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.
Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under
the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked
in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and
the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay
was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the
bottom of the box were laid two stones crosswise of the box, and on these
stones lay the plates and the other things with them.
I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the
messenger, and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth
had not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time;
but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from
that time and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue
to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates.
Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each year, and
at each time I found the same messenger there, and received instruction
and intelligence from him at each of our interviews, respecting what the
Lord was going to do, and how and in what manner His kingdom was to be
conducted in the last days.
As my father's worldly circumstances were very limited, we were under
the necessity of laboring with our hands, hiring out by day's work and
otherwise as we could get opportunity. Sometimes we were at home, and
sometimes abroad, and by continued labor, were enabled to get a
comfortable maintenance. In the year 1824 my father's family met with a
great affliction by the death of my eldest brother, Alvin. In the month
of October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah
Stowel, who lived in Chenango County, state of New York. He had heard
something of a silver mine having been opened by the Spaniards in Harmony,
Susquehanna county, state of Pennsylvania; and had, previous to my hiring
to him, been digging, in order, if possible, to discover the mine. After
I went to live with him, he took me, with the rest of his hands, to dig
for the silver mine, at which I continued to work for nearly a month,
without success in our undertaking, and finally I prevailed with the old
gentleman to cease digging after it. Hence arose the very prevalent story
of my having been a money digger.
During the time that I was thus employed, I was put to board with a
Mr. Isaac Hale, of that place; it was there I first saw my wife (his
daughter), Emma Hale. On the 18th of January, 1827 we were married,
while I was yet employed in the service of Mr. Stoal. Owing to my
continuing to assert that I had seen a vision, persecution still followed
me, and my wife's father's family were very much opposed to our being
married. I was, therefore, under the necessity of taking her elsewhere;
so we went and were married at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South
Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York. Immediately after my marriage, I
left Mr. Stoal's and went to my father's, and farmed with him that season.
CHAPTER III.
THE NEPHITE RECORD DELIVERED TO JOSEPH--THE
ANGEL'S WARNING--THE WORK OF TRANSLATION.
AT length the time arrived for obtaining the plates the Urim and
Thummim, and the Breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one
thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end
of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly
messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be
responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through
any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my
endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger should call for them,
they should be protected.
I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to
keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had
done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner
was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used
to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted
to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than
before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me
if possible. But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands,
until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When,
according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them
up to him; and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second
day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
The excitement, however, still continued, and rumor with her thousand
tongues was all the time employed in circulating falsehoods about my
father's family, and about myself. If I were to relate a thousandth part
of them, it would fill up volumes. The persecution, however, became so
intolerable that I was under the necessity of leaving Manchester, and
going with my wife to Susquehanna county, in the state of Pennsylvania.
While preparing to start,--being very poor, and the persecution so
heavy upon us that there was no probability that we would ever be
otherwise--in the midst of our afflictions we found a friend in a
gentleman by the name of Martin Harris, who came to us and gave me fifty
dollars to assist us on our journey. Mr. Harris was a resident of Palmyra
township, Wayne county, in the state of New York, and a farmer of
respectability. By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my
destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I
commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable
number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of
them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife's
father, in the month of December, and the February following.
Some time in this month of February, the aforementioned Mr. Martin
Harris came to our place, got the characters which I had drawn off the
plates, and started with them to the city of New York. For what took
place relative to him and the characters, I refer to his own account of
the circumstances, as he related them to me after his return, which was as
follows:
I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which
had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles
Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor
Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had
before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which
were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic,
Assyric, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters. He gave me a
certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true
characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been
translated was also correct, I took the certificate and put it into my
pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back,
and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in
the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had
revealed it unto him.
He then said to me, "Let me see that certificate." I accordingly
took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it
to pieces, saying, that there was no such thing now as ministering of
angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him, he would translate
them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was
forbidden to bring them. He replied, "I cannot read a sealed book." I
left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon
had said respecting both the characters and the translation.
Mr. Harris, having returned from his tour, left me and went home to
Palmyra, arranged his affairs, and returned again to my house about the
12th of April, 1828, and commenced writing for me while I translated from
the plates, which we continued until the 14th of June following, by which
time he had written one hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript on
foolscap paper. Some time after Mr. Harris had begun to write for me, he
began to importune me to give him liberty to carry the writings home and
show them; and desired of me that I would inquire of the Lord, through the
Urim and Thummim, if he might not do so. I did inquire, and the answer
was that he must not. However, he was not satisfied with this answer, and
desired that I should inquire again. I did so, and the answer was as
before. Still he could not be contented, but insisted that should inquire
once more. After much solicitation I again inquired of the Lord, and
permission was granted him to have the writings on certain conditions;
which were, that he show them only to his brother, Preserved Harris, his
own wife, his father and his mother, and a Mrs. Cobb, a sister to his
wife. In accordance with this last answer, I required of him that he
should bind himself in a covenant to me in a most solemn manner that he
would not do otherwise than had been directed. He did so. He bound
himself as I required of him, took the writings, and went his way.
Notwithstanding, however, the great restrictions which he had been laid
under, and the solemnity of the covenant which he had made with me, he did
show them to others, and by stratagem they got them away from him, and
they never have been recovered unto this day.
In the meantime, while Martin Harris was gone with the writings, I
went to visit my father's family at Manchester. I continued there for a
short season, and then returned to my place in Pennsylvania. Immediately
after my return home, I was walking out a little distance, when, behold,
the former heavenly messenger appeared and handed to me the Urim and
Thummim again--for it had been taken from me in consequence of my having
wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take
the writings, which he lost by transgression--and I inquired of the Lord
through it, and obtained the following:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., given July, 1828, concerning
certain manuscripts of the first part of the Book of Mormon, which had
been taken from the possession of Martin Harris.
1. The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be
frustrated, neither can they come to naught.
2. For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to
the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he
hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal
round.
3. Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is
frustrated, but the work of men;
4. For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do
many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at
naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will
and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God
upon him.
5. Behold, you have been entrusted with these things, but how strict
were your commandments, and remember also the promises which were made to
you, if you did not transgress them.
6. And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the
laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.
7. For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God.
Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words--
8. Yet you should have been faithful and he would have extended his
arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he
would have been with you in every time of trouble.
9. Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of
the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt
fall.
10. But remember God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which
thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and
thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work;
11. Except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as
other men and have no more gift.
12. And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight
and power to translate, thou deliveredst up that which was sacred into the
hands of a wicked man,
13. Who has set at naught the counsels of God, and has broken the
most sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his
own judgment and boasted in his own wisdom.
14. And this is the reason that thou hast lost thy privileges for a
season--
15. For thou hast suffered the counsel of thy director to be trampled
upon from the beginning.
16. Nevertheless, my work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the
knowledge of a Savior has come into the world, through the testimony of
the Jews, even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people--
17. And to the Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and
the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers--
18. And this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites
and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because
of the iniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy
their brethren the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their
abominations.
19. And for this very purpose are these plates preserved which
contain these records--that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled,
which he made to his people;
20. And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their
fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they
may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be
glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance
they might be saved. Amen.
After I had obtained the above revelation, both the plates and the
Urim and Thummim were taken from me again; but in a few days they were
returned to me, when I inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said thus unto
me:
Revelation, given to Joseph Smith, Jun., informing him of the
alteration of the manuscript of the fore part of the Book of Mormon.
1. Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those
writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of
the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
2. And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became
darkened.
3. Nevertheless, it is now restored unto you again; therefore see
that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder
of the work of translation as you have begun.
4. Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means
provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end:
5. Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may
conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan
that do uphold his work.
6. Behold, they have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom
you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
7. And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has
sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he
has also sought to destroy your gift.
8. And because you have delivered the writings into his hands,
behold, wicked men have taken them from you.
9. Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred,
unto wickedness.
10. And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the
words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated,
which have gone out of your hands.
11. And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the
words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be
written;
12. And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan,
that he may destroy this work;
13. For he hath put it into their hearts to do this, that by lying
they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to
translate.
14. Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall
accomplish his evil design in this thing.
15. For behold, he has put it into their hearts to get thee to tempt
the Lord thy God in asking to translate it over again.
16. And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts--We will see
if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him
power again;
17. And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or,
in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the
same with us, and we have altered them;
18. Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied
in his words, and that he has no gift, and that he has no power;
19. Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do
this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get glory of
the world.
20. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon
their hearts; he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which is good;
21. And their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and
abominations; and they love darkness rather than light, because their
deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me.
22. Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to
destruction.
23. And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work
of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn to their
shame and condemnation in the day of judgment.
24. Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger against this work.
25. Yea, he saith unto them: Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that
ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and
telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie,
that they may destroy him.
26. And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he
draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch
themselves in their own snare.
27. And thus he goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking
to destroy the souls of men.
28. Verily, verily, I say unto you, woe be unto him that lieth to
deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are
not exempt from the justice of God.
29. Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith
unto them; He hath deceived you--and thus he flattereth them away to do
iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God.
30. Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those
words which have gone forth out of your hands;
31. For, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in
lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the
same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to
translate, but that you have contradicted yourself.
32. And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the
hearts of the people to stir them up to anger against you, that they will
not believe my words.
33. Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this
generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.
34. But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom,
and give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do, show
it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of translation.
35. Marvel not that I said unto you; Here is wisdom, show it not unto
the world--for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be
preserved.
36. Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the
righteous;
37. But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot
always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold
your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world
concerning the matter.
38. And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things
that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon
the plates of Nephi;
39. Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more
particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.
40. And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of
Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I
would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account--
41. Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the
plates of Nephi down even till you come to the reign of King Benjamin, or
until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;
42. And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus
I will confound those who have altered my words.
43. I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will
show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
44. Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the
account of Nephi.
45. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi
which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me
that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and
send forth in this work.
46. And behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those
parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples,
desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people.
47. And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them
according to their faith in their prayers;
48. Yea, and this was their faith--that my gospel, which I gave unto
them that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren
the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their
dissensions.
49. Now, this is not all--their faith in their prayers was that this
gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations
should possess this land;
50. And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their
prayers, that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might
have eternal life;
51. Yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation,
kindred, tongue, or people they may be.
52. And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I
bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do
not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.
53. And for this cause have I said: If this generation harden not
their hearts, I will establish my church among them.
54. Now I do not say this to destroy my church, but I say this to
build up my church;
55. Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for
such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
56. But it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments
but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that
do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil--yea, verily, verily, I
say unto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble
and shake to the center.
57. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto mine own,
and mine own received me not.
58. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness
comprehendeth it not.
59. I am he who said--Other sheep have I which are not of this
fold--unto my disciples, and many there were that understood me not.
60. And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that
they were a branch of the house of Jacob;
61. And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did
in my name;
62. Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was
ministered unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have
received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true
points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me.
63. And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not
be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to
contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they
do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.
64. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery;
65. For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;
66. Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of
life freely.
67. Behold, this is my doctrine--whosoever repenteth and cometh unto
me, the same is my church.
68. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of
me, but is against me, therefore he is not of my church,
69. And now, behold whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my
church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against them.
70. And now, remember the words of him who is the life and light of
the world, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Amen.
I did not, however, go immediately to translating, but went to
laboring with my hands upon a small farm which I had purchased of my
wife's father, in order to provide for my family. In the month of
February, 1829, my father came to visit us, at which time I received the
following revelation for him:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Sen., given February, 1829.
1. Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the
children of men.
2. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye
serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand
blameless before God at the last day.
3. Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the
work;
4. For behold the field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that
thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that
he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
5. And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory
of God, qualify him for the work.
6. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly
kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7. Ask, and ye shall receive, knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Amen.
The following I applied for and obtained, at the request of the
aforementioned Martin Harris:
Revelation, given March, 1829.
1. Behold, I say unto you, that as my servant Martin Harris has
desired a witness at my hand, that you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun.,
have got the plates of which you have testified and borne record that you
have received of me;
2. And now, behold, this shall you say unto him,--He who spake unto
you said unto you; I, the Lord, am God, and have given these things unto
you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should
stand as a witness of these things;
3. And I have caused you that you should enter into a covenant with
me, that you should not show them except to those persons to whom I
commanded you; and you have no power over them except I grant it unto you.
4. And you have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first
gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should
pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will
grant unto you no other gift until it is finished.
5. Verily, I say unto you, that woe shall come unto the inhabitants
of the earth if they will not hearken unto my words;
6. For hereafter you shall be ordained and go forth and deliver my
words unto the children of men.
7. Behold, if they will not believe my words, they would not believe
you, my servant Joseph, if it were possible that you should show them all
these things which I have committed unto you.
8. Oh, this unbelieving and stiffnecked generation--mine anger is
kindled against them.
9. Behold, verily I say unto you, I have reserved those things which
I have entrusted unto you, my servant Joseph, for a wise purpose in me,
and it shall be made known unto future generations;
10. But this generation shall have my word through you,
11. And in addition to your testimony, the testimony of three of my
servants, whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will show these
things, and they shall go forth with my words that are given through you.
12. Yea, they shall know of a surety that these things are true, for
from heaven will I declare it unto them.
13. I will give them power that they may behold and view these things
as they are;
14. And to none else will I grant this power, to receive this same
testimony among this generation, in this the beginning of the rising up
and the coming forth of my Church out of the wilderness--clear as the
moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an array with banners,
15. And the testimony of three witnesses will I send forth of my
word.
16. And behold, whosoever believeth on my words, them will I visit
with the manifestation of my Spirit; and they shall be born of me, even of
water and of the Spirit--
17. And you must wait yet a little while, for ye are not yet
ordained--
18. And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation of
this generation if they harden their hearts against them;
19. For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of
the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they
repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are
consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming.
20. Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told the people
of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be verified at this
time as it hath hitherto been verified.
21. And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more
uprightly before me and to yield to the persuasions of men no more;
22. And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have
commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life,
even if you should be slain.
23. And now, again, I speak unto you, my servant Joseph, concerning
the man that desires the witness--
24. Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble
himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and
humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his head,
then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.
25. And then he shall say unto the people of this generation; Behold,
I have seen the things which the Lord hath shown unto Joseph Smith, Jun.,
and I know of a surety that they are true, for I have seen them, for they
have been shown unto me by the power of God and not of man.
26. And I the Lord commanded him, my servant Martin Harris, that he
shall say no more unto them concerning these things, except he shall say;
I have seen them, and they have been shown unto me by the power of God;
and these are the words which he shall say.
27. But if he deny this he will break the covenant which he has
before covenanted with me, and behold, he is condemned.
28. And now, except he humble himself and acknowledge unto me the
things that he has done which are wrong, and covenant with me that he will
keep my commandments, and exercise faith in me, behold, I say unto him, he
shall have no such views, for I will grant unto him no views of the things
of which I have spoken.
29. And if this be the case, I command you, my servant Joseph, that
you shall say unto him, that he shall do no more, nor trouble me any more
concerning this matter.
30. And if this be the case, behold, I say unto thee Joseph, when
thou hast translated a few more pages thou shalt stop for a season, even
until I command thee again; then thou mayest translate again,
31. And except thou do this, behold, thou shalt have no more gift,
and I will take away the things which I have entrusted with thee.
32. And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy thee,
yea, I foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not himself and
receive a witness from my hand, that he will fall into transgression;
33. And there are many that lie in wait to destroy thee from off the
face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days may be prolonged, I
have given unto thee these commandments.
34. Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop and stand still until I
command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the
thing which I have commanded thee.
35. And if thou art faithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt
be lifted up at the last day. Amen.
CHAPTER IV.
OLIVER COWDERY BECOMES THE PROPHET'S SCRIBE--
THE TRANSLATION OF THE PLATES CONTINUES.
ON the 5th day of April, 1829, Oliver Cowdery came to my house,
until which time I had never seen him. He stated to me that having been
teaching school in the neighborhood where my father resided, and my father
being one of those who sent to the school, he went to board for a season
at his house, and while there the family related to him the circumstance
of my having received the plates, and accordingly he had come to make
inquiries of me. Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the
7th of April) I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began
to write for me, which having continued for some time, I inquired of the
Lord through the Urim and Thummim, and obtained the following:
Revelation given April, 1829, to Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith,
Jun.
1. A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the
children of men.
2. Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and
powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both
joints and marrow, therefore give heed unto my words.
3. Behold, the field is white already to harvest, therefore, who so
desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap
while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting
salvation in the kingdom of God.
4. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is
called of God.
5. Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will
knock it shall be opened unto you.
6. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you keep my
commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion;
7. Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of
God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold
he that hath eternal life is rich.
8. Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it
shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much
good in this generation.
9. Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my
commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my
commandments, and you shall be blessed.
10. Behold thou hast a gift, and blessed art thou because of thy
gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above--
11. And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are
great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift, that thou
mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of
the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways.
12. Make not thy gift known unto any save it be those who are of thy
faith. Trifle not with sacred things.
13. If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end thou
shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the
gifts of God, for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.
14. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou
hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast
inquired, thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been
so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.
15. Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did
enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know
that thou hast been enlightened by the spirit of truth;
16. Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else
save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.
17. I tell thee these things as a witness unto thee--that the words
or the work which thou hast been writing are true.
18. Therefore be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in
whatsoever difficult circumstances he may be for the word's sake.
19. Admonish him in his faults and also receive admonition of him.
Be patient; be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and
charity.
20. Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of
thy desire; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful
and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee
in the arms of my love.
21. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that
came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which
shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
22. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness,
cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that
you might know concerning the truth of these things.
23. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What
greater witness can you have than from God?
24. And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told
you things which no man knoweth, have you not received a witness?
25. And behold, I grant unto you a gift, if you desire of me, to
translate even as my servant Joseph.
26. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that there are records which
contain much of my gospel, which have been kept back because of the
wickedness of the people;
27. And now I command you, that if you have good desires--a desire to
lay up treasures for yourself in heaven--then shall you assist in bringing
to light, with your gift, those parts of my scriptures which have been
hidden because of iniquity.
28. And now, behold, I give unto you, and also unto my servant
Joseph, the keys of this gift, which shall bring to light this ministry;
and in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be
established.
29. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if they reject my words, and this
part of my gospel and ministry, blessed are ye, for they can do no more
unto you than unto me;
30. And even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me,
blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory.
31. But if they reject not my words, which shall be established by
the testimony which shall be given, blessed are they, and then shall ye
have joy in the fruit of your labors.
32. Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples,
where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one
thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them--even so am I in the
midst of you.
33. Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow that shall ye
also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your
reward.
34. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell
combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot
prevail.
35. Behold, I do not condemn you, go your ways and sin no more;
perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.
36. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
37. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of
the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye
shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
After we had received this revelation, Oliver Cowdery stated to me
that after he had gone to my father's to board, and after the family had
communicated to him concerning my having obtained the plates, that one
night after he had retired to bed he called upon the Lord to know if these
things were so, and the Lord manifested to him that they were true, but he
had kept the circumstance entirely secret, and had mentioned it to no one;
so that after this revelation was given, he knew that the work was true,
because no being living knew of the thing alluded to in the revelation,
but God and himself.
During the month of April I continued to translate, and he to write,
with little cessation, during which time we received several revelations.
A difference of opinion arising between us about the account of John the
Apostle, mentioned in the New Testament, as to whether he died or
continued to live, we mutually agreed to settle it by the Urim and Thummim
and the following is the word which we received:
Revelation, given to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, in
Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829, when they desired to know whether
John, the beloved disciple, tarried on earth or died. Translated from
parchment, written and hid up by himself.
1. And the Lord said unto me, John, my beloved, what desirest thou?
For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you.
2. And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I
may live and bring souls unto thee.
3. And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and
shall prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.
4. And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter; if I will that he
tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he
might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily
come unto me in my kingdom.
5. I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has
desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what
he has before done.
6. Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore, I will make him
as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who
shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth.
7. And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother
James; and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this
ministry until I come.
8. Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your
desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired.
Whilst continuing the work of translation, during the month of April,
Oliver Cowdery became exceedingly anxious to have the power bestowed upon
him, and in relation to this desire the following revelations were
obtained:
Revelation, given April, 1829.
1. Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as
the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall
you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with
an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning
the engravings of old records, which are ancient, which contain those
parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my
Spirit.
2. Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by
the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your
heart.
3. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the
spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea
on dry ground.
4. Therefore this is thy gift, apply unto it, and blessed art thou,
for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies, when, if it
were not so, they would slay you and bring your soul to destruction.
5. Oh, remember these words, and keep my commandments. Remember,
this is your gift.
6. Now this is not all thy gift; for you have another gift, which is
the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things;
7. Behold, there is no other power, save the power of God, that can
cause this gift of Aaron to be with you.
8. Therefore, doubt not, for it is the gift of God; and you shall
hold it in your hands, and do marvelous works; and no power shall be able
to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God.
9. And, therefore, whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that
means, that will I grant unto you, and you shall have knowledge concerning
it.
10. Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in
faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought
not.
11. Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may
translate and receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have
been hid up, that are sacred; and according to your faith shall it be done
unto you.
12. Behold, it is I that have spoken it; and I am the same that spake
unto you from the beginning. Amen.
Revelation, given to Oliver Cowdery, April, 1829. 1. Behold, I say
unto you, my son, that because you did not translate according to that
which you desired of me, and did commence again to write for my servant,
Joseph Smith, Jun., even so I would that ye should continue until you have
finished this record, which I have entrusted unto him.
2. And then, behold, other records have I, that I will give unto you
power that you may assist to translate.
3. Be patient, my son, for it is wisdom in me, and it is not
expedient that you should translate at this present time.
4. Behold, the work which you are called to do is to write for my
servant Joseph.
5. And, behold, it is because that you did not continue as you
commenced, when you began to translate, that I have taken away this
privilege from you.
6. Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt
with you after this manner.
7. Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would
give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your
mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause
that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it
is right.
9. But if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you
shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing
which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it
be given you from me.
10. Now, if you had known this you could have translated;
nevertheless, it is not expedient that you should translate now.
11. Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and
the time is past, and it is not expedient now;
12. For, do you not behold that I have given unto my servant Joseph
sufficient strength, whereby it is made up? and neither of you have I
condemned.
13. Do this thing which I have commanded you, and you shall prosper.
Be faithful, and yield to no temptation.
14. Stand fast in the work wherewith I have called you, and a hair of
your head shall not be lost, and you shall be lifted up at the last day.
Amen.
CHAPTER V.
RESTORATION OF THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD--FIRST BAPTISMS.
WE still continued the work of translation, when in the ensuing month
(May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire
of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found
mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed,
praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a
cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:
Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the
Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of
angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion
for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from
the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the
Lord in righteousness.
He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands
for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us
hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us
directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and afterwards that he
should baptize me. Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him
first, and afterwards he baptized me, after which I laid my hands upon his
head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid
his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood--for so we were
commanded.
The messenger who visited us on this occasion, and conferred this
Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called
John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the
direction of Peter, James and John who held the keys of the Priesthood of
Melchizedek, which Priesthood he said would in due time be conferred on
us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he
(Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the 15th day of May, 1829, that we
were ordained under the hand of this messenger and baptized.
Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been
baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly
Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell
upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly
come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also
had the spirit of prophecy, when standing up, I prophesied concerning the
rise of this church, and many other things connected with the Church, and
this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy
Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.
Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the Scriptures laid
open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their
more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could
attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. In the meantime we
were forced to keep secret the circumstances of having received the
Priesthood and our having been baptized, owing to a spirit of persecution
which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood. We had been
threatened with being mobbed from time to time, and this, too, by
professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only
counteracted by the influence of my wife's father's family (under Divine
providence), who had become very friendly to me, and who were opposed to
mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of
translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us
protection from all unlawful proceedings as far as in them lay.
After a few days, however, feeling it to be our duty, we commenced to
reason out of the Scriptures with our acquaintances and friends, as we
happened to meet with them. About this time my brother Samuel H. Smith
came to visit us. We informed him of what the Lord was about to do for
the children of men, and began to reason with him out of the Bible. We
also showed him that part of the work which we had translated, and labored
to persuade him concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was now about
to be revealed in its fulness. He was not, however, very easily persuaded
of these things, but after much inquiry and explanation he retired to the
woods, in order that by secret and fervent prayer he might obtain of a
merciful God, wisdom to enable him to judge for himself. The result was
that he obtained revelation for himself sufficient to convince him of the
truth of our assertions to him; and on the twenty-fifth day of that same
month in which we had been baptized and ordained, Oliver Cowdery baptized
him; and he returned to his father's house, greatly glorifying and
praising God, being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Not many days afterwards, my brother Hyrum
Smith came to us to inquire concerning these things, when at his
earnest request, I inquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim, and
received for him the following:
Revelation, given to Hyrum Smith, Harmony, Susquenhanna County,
Pennsylvania, May, 1829.
1. A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the
children of men.
2. Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and
powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword to the dividing asunder of both
joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word.
3. Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, who
desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap
while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting
salvation in the kingdom of God.
4. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is
called of God.
5. Therefore, if you will ask me, you shall receive; if you will
knock it shall be opened unto you.
6. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my
commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.
7. Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of
God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold,
he that hath eternal life is rich.
8. Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it
shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of
doing much good in this generation.
9. Say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Keep my
commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my
commandments, and you shall be blessed.
10. Behold, thou hast a gift, or thou shalt have a gift if thou wilt
desire of me in faith, with an honest heart, believing in the power of
Jesus Christ, or in my power which speaketh unto thee;
11. For, behold, it is I that speak; behold. I am the light which
shineth in darkness, and by my power I give these words unto thee.
12. And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that
Spirit which leadeth to do good--yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to
judge righteously, and this is my Spirit.
13. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my
Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with
joy;
14. And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things
whatsoever you desire of me which are pertaining unto things of
righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.
15. Behold, I command you that you need not suppose that you are
called to preach until you are called.
16. Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my
Church, and my gospel, that you may know of a surety my doctrine.
17. And then, behold, according to your desires, yea, even according
to your faith shall it be done unto you.
18. Keep my commandments; hold your peace; appeal unto my Spirit;
19. Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in
bringing to light those things of which have been spoken--yea, the
translation of my work; be patient until you shall accomplish it.
20. Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all
your might, mind and strength.
21. Seek not to declare my word but first seek to obtain my word and
then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my
Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.
22. But now hold your peace; study my word which hath gone forth
among the children of men, and also study my word which shall come forth
among the children of men, or that which is now translating, yea, until
you have obtained all which I shall grant unto the children of man in this
generation, and then shall all things be added thereto.
23. Behold thou art Hyrum, my son; seek the kingdom of God and all
things shall be added according to that which is just.
24. Build upon my rock, which is my gospel;
25. Deny not the spirit of revelation nor the spirit of prophecy, for
woe unto him that denieth these things;
26. Therefore, treasure up in your heart until the time which is in
my wisdom that you shall go forth.
27. Behold I speak unto all who have good desires, and have thrust in
their sickle to reap.
28. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the
light of the world.
29. I am the same who came unto mine own and mine own received me
not;
30. But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me,
to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on my name. Amen.
About the same time an old gentleman came to visit us of whose name I
wish to make honorable mention--Mr. Joseph Knight, Sen., of Colesville,
Broome county, New York, who, having heard of the manner in which we were
occupying our time, very kindly and considerately brought us a quantity of
provisions, in order that we might not be interrupted in the work of
translation by the want of such necessaries of life; and I would just
mention here, as in duty bound, that he several times brought us supplies,
a distance of at least thirty miles, which enabled us to continue the work
when otherwise we must have relinquished it for a season.
Being very anxious to know his duty as to this work, I inquired of
the Lord for him, and obtained the following:
Revelation, given to Joseph Smith, Sen., at Harmony, Susquehanna
County, Pennsylvania, May, 1829.
1. A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the
children of men.
2. Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and
powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both
joints and marrow; therefore, give heed unto my word.
3. Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso
desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap
while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting
salvation in the kingdom of God.
4. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is
called of God.
5. Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will
knock it shall be opened unto you.
6. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my
commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.
7. Behold I speak unto you, and also to all those who have desires to
bring forth and establish this work
8. And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and
full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all
things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care.
9. Behold, I am the light and the life of the world, that speak these
words, therefore give heed with your might, and then you are called.
Amen.
Shortly after commencing to translate, I became acquainted with Mr.
Peter Whitmer, of Fayette, Seneca county, New York, and also with some of
his family. In the beginning of the month of June, his son, David
Whitmer,+ came to the place where we were residing, and brought with him
a two-horse wagon, for the purpose of having us accompany him to his
father's place, and there remain until we should finish the work. It was
arranged that we should have our board free of charge, and the assistance
of one of his brothers to write for me, and also his own assistance when
convenient. Having much need of such timely aid in an undertaking so
arduous, and being informed that the people in the neighborhood of the
Whitmers were anxiously awaiting the opportunity to inquire into these
things, we accepted the invitation, and accompanied Mr. Whitmer to his
father's house, and there resided until the translation was finished and
the copyright secured. Upon our arrival, we found Mr. Whitmer's family
very anxious Concerning the work, and very friendly toward ourselves.
They continued so, boarded and lodged us according to arrangements; and
John Whitmer, in particular, assisted us very much in writing during the
remainder of the work.
In the meantime, David, John and Peter Whitmer, Jun., became our
zealous friends and assistants in the work; and being anxious to know
their respective duties, and having desired with much earnestness that I
inquire of the Lord concerning them, I did so, through the means of the
Urim and Thummim, and obtained for them in succession the following
revelations:
Revelation, given to David Whitmer, at Fayette, Seneca County, New
York, June, 1829.+
1. A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the
children of men.
2. Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and
powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both
joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word.
3. Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore whoso
desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap
while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting
salvation in the kingdom of God.
4. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is
called of God.
5. Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will
knock it shall be opened unto you.
6. Seek to bring forth and establish my Zion. Keep my commandments
in all things.
7. And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall
have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
8. And it shall come to pass, that if you shall ask the Father in my
name, in faith believing, you shall receive the Holy Ghost, which giveth
utterance, that you may stand as a witness of the things of which you
shall both hear and see, and also that you may declare repentance unto
this generation.
9. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who created
the heavens and the earth, a light which cannot be hid in darkness;
10. Wherefore, I must bring forth the fulness of my gospel from the
Gentiles unto the house of Israel.
11. And behold, thou art David, and thou art called to assist; which
thing if ye do, and are faithful, ye shall be blessed both spiritually and
temporally, and great shall be your reward. Amen.
Revelation given to John Whitmer, June, 1829.
1. Hearken, my servant John, and listen to the words of Jesus Christ,
your Lord and your Redeemer,
2. For behold, I speak unto you with sharpness and with power, for
mine arm is over all the earth.
3. And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee
alone--
4. For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be
of the most worth unto you.
5. Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words
which I have given you according to my commandments.
6. And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of
the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people,
that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest them in the kingdom of
my Father. Amen.
Revelation to Peter Whitmer, Jun., June, 1829.
1. Harken, my servant Peter, and listen to the words of Jesus Christ,
your Lord and your Redeemer,
2. For behold, I speak unto you with sharpness and with power, for
mine arm is over all the earth,
3. And I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee
alone--
4. For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be
of the most worth unto you.
5. Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words
which I have given unto you according to my commandments.
6. And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of
the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people,
that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the
kingdom of my Father. Amen.
We found the people of Seneca county in general friendly, and
disposed to enquire into truth of these strange matters which now began to
be noised abroad. Many opened their houses to us, in order that we might
have an opportunity of meeting with our friends for the purpose of
instruction and explanation. We met with many from time to time who were
willing to hear us, and who desired to find out the truth as it is in
Christ Jesus, and apparently willing to obey the Gospel, when once fairly
convinced and satisfied in their own minds; and in this same month of
June, my brother Hyrum Smith, David Whitmer, and Peter Whitmer, Jun., were
baptized in Seneca lake, the two former by myself, the latter by Oliver
Cowdery. From this time forth many became believers, and some were
baptized whilst we continued to instruct and persuade as many as applied
for information.
CHAPTER VI.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE ESPECIAL WITNESSES TO THE BOOK OF MORMON.
In the course of the work of translation, we ascertained that three
special witnesses were to be provided by the Lord, to whom He would grant
that they should see the plates from which this work (the Book of Mormon)
should be translated; and that these witnesses should bear record of the
same, as will be found recorded, Book of Mormon, page 581 [Book of Ether,
chapter 5, verses 2, 3 and 4, p. 487, edition 1920], also page 86 [II
Nephi, chapter 11, verse 3, p. 73, edition 1920]. Almost immediately
after we had made this discovery, it occurred to Oliver Cowdery, David
Whitmer and the aforementioned Martin Harris (who had come to inquire
after our progress in the work) that they would have me inquire of the
Lord to know if they might not obtain of him the privilege to be these
three special witnesses; and finally they became so very solicitous, and
urged me so much to inquire that at length I complied; and through the
Urim and Thummim, I obtained of the Lord for them the following:
Revelation to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, at
Fayette, Seneca County, New York, June, 1829, given previous to their
viewing the plates containing the Book of Mormon.
1. Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if
you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates,
and also the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which
were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the
Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi
while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea.
2. And it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even
by that faith which was had by the prophets of old.
3. And after that you have obtained faith, and have seen them with
your eyes, you shall testify of them, by the power of God;
4. And this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., may not
be destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the
children of men in this work.
5. And ye shall testify that you have seen them, even as my servant
Joseph Smith, Jun., has seen them; for it is by my power that he has seen
them, and it is because he had faith.
6. And he has translated the book, even that part which I have
commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true.
7. Wherefore you have received the same power, and the same faith,
and the same gift like unto him;
8. And if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given
you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is
sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day.
9. And, I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it unto
you, that I might bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of
men. Amen.
Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz.,
Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire
into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the
fulfilment of the promises given in the above revelation--that they should
have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods
convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt
down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a
realization of these promises.
According to previous arrangement, I commenced prayer to our Heavenly
Father, and was followed by each of the others in succession. We did not
at the first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine
favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each
calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same
result as before.
Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should
withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his
presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He
accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been
many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us
in the air, of exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us.
In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to
have a view of. He turned over the leaves one by one, so that we could
see them, and discern the engravings thereon distinctly. He then
addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, "David, blessed is the Lord,
and he that keeps His commandments;" when, immediately afterwards, we
heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying,
"These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have
been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you
have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see
and hear."
I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris,
whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He
soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and
earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize
the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in
prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet
finished, the same vision was opened to our view, at least it was again
opened to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things; whilst at
the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy,
" 'Tis enough; 'tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;"
and jumping up, he shouted,"Hosanna," blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced
exceedingly.
Having thus, through the mercy of God, obtained these glorious
manifestations, it now remained for these three individuals to fulfil the
commandment which they had received, viz., to bear record of these things;
in order to accomplish which, they drew up and subscribed the following
document:
The Testimony of Three Witnesses.
BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto
whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father,
and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record,
which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their
brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of
which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated
by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us;
wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify
that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have
been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare
with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and
he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates,
and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the
the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that
these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless,
the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it;
wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony
of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall
rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the
judgment seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the
heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy
Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
OLIVER COWDERY, DAVID WHITMER, MARTIN HARRIS.
Soon after these things had transpired, the following additional
testimony was obtained:
The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.
BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto
whom this work shall come; that Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this
work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have
the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has
translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings
thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious
workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the
said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a
surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken.
And we give our names unto the world to witness unto the world that which
we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it. CHRISTIAN
WHITMER, JACOB WHITMER, PETER WHITMER, JUN., JOHN WHITMER, HIRAM PAGE,
JOSEPH SMITH, SEN, HYRUM SMITH, SAMUEL H. SMITH.
Meantime we continued to translate, at intervals, when not under the
necessity of attending to the numerous inquirers who now began to visit
us--some for the sake of finding the truth others for the purpose of
putting hard questions, and trying to confound us. Among the latter class
were several learned priests, who generally came for the purpose of
disputation. However, the Lord continued to pour out upon us His Holy
Spirit, and as often as we had need, He gave us in that moment what to
say; so that although unlearned and inexperienced in religious
controversies, yet we were able to confound those learned priests of the
day; whilst at the same time we were enabled to convince the honest in
heart that we had obtained, through the mercy of God, the true and ever
lasting Gospel of Jesus Christ; and occasionally we administered the
ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins to such as believed.
CHAPTER VII.
THE DAY APPOINTED FOR ORGANIZING THE CHURCH--REVELATION ON
CHURCH GOVERNMENT.
We now became anxious to have that promise realized to us, which the
angel that conferred upon us the Aaronic Priesthood had given us, viz.,
that provided we continued faithful, we should also have the Melchizedek
Priesthood, which holds the authority of the laying on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost. We had for some time made this matter a subject
of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the chamber of Mr.
Whitmer's house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we
now so earnestly desired; and here, to our unspeakable satisfaction, did
we realize the truth of the Savior's promise--"Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"--for
we had not long been engaged in solemn and fervent prayer, when the word
of the Lord came unto us in the chamber, commanding us that I should
ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ; and
that he also should ordain me to the same office; and then to ordain
others, as it should be made known unto us from time to time. We were,
however, commanded to defer this our ordination until such times as it
should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be
baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our thus
proceeding to ordain each other, and have them decide by vote whether they
were willing to accept us as spiritual teachers or not; when also we were
commanded to bless bread and break it with them, and to take wine, bless
it, and drink it with them; afterward proceed to ordain each other
according to commandment; then call out such men as the Spirit should
dictate, and ordain them; and then attend to the laying on of hands for
the gift of the Holy Ghost, upon all those whom we had previously
baptized, doing all things in the name of the Lord. The following
commandment will further illustrate the nature of our calling to this
Priesthood, as well as that of others who were yet to be sought after:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer,
making known the calling of Twelve Apostles in these last days: and also
instructions relative to building up the Church of Christ according to the
fulness of the Gospel, Given in Fayette, New York, June, 1829.
1. Now, behold, because of the thing which you, my servant Oliver
Cowdery, have desired to know of me, I give unto you these words;
2. Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many
instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you
know that they are true.
3. And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a
commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written;
4. For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my
church, my gospel and my rock.
5. Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of
my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
6. Behold, the world is ripening in iniquity; and it must needs be
that the children of men are stirred up unto repentance, both the Gentiles
and also the house of Israel.
7. Wherefore, as thou hast been baptized by the hands of my servant
Joseph Smith Jun., according to that which I have commanded him, he hath
fulfilled the thing which I commanded him.
8. And now, marvel not that I have called him unto mine own purpose,
which purpose is known in me wherefore, if he shall be diligent in keeping
my commandments he shall be blessed unto eternal life; and his name is
Joseph.
9. And now, Oliver Cowdery, I speak unto you, and also unto David
Whitmer, by the way of commandment; for behold, I command all men
everywhere to repent, and I speak unto you even as unto Paul mine apostle,
for you are called even with that same calling with which he was called.
10. Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
11. For, behold the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh;
wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and
come unto him.
12. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all
men unto him, on conditions of repentance,
13. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!
14. Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.
15. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying
repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how
great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
16. And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have
brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy
if you should bring many souls unto me!
17. Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my
salvation.
18. Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall
receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things
which are expedient unto the children of men.
19. And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing.
20. Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.
21. Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in
soberness.
22. And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus
Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
23. Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father,
and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved;
24. Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of
the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day,
25. Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called,
they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father.
26. And now, behold, there are others who are called to declare my
gospel, both unto Gentile and unto Jew;
27. Yea, even twelve; and the Twelve shall be my disciples, and they
shall take upon them my name; and the Twelve are they who shall desire to
take upon them my name with full purpose of heart.
28. And if they desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of
heart, they are called to go into all the world to preach my gospel unto
every creature.
29. And they are they who are ordained of me to baptize in my name,
according to that which is written;
30. And you have that which is written before you; wherefore, you
must perform it according to the words which are written.
31. And now I speak unto you, the Twelve--Behold, my grace is
sufficient for you; you must walk uprightly before me and sin not.
32. And, behold, you are they who are ordained of me to ordain
priests and teachers, to declare my gospel, according to the power of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, and according to the callings and gifts of God
unto men,
33. And I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it.
34. These words are not of men, nor of man, but of me; wherefore you
shall testify they are of me and not of man;
35. For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are
given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to
another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;
36. Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know
my words.
37. And now, behold I give unto you, Oliver Cowdery, and also unto
David Whitmer, that you shall search out the Twelve, who shall have the
desires of which I have spoken;
38. And by their desires and their works you shall know them.
39. And when you have found them, you shall show these things unto
them.
40. And you shall fall down and worship the Father in my name,
41. And you must preach unto the world, saying: You must repent and
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ;
42. For all men must repent and be baptized, and not only men, but
women, and children who have arrived at the years of accountability.
43. And now, after that you have received this you must keep my
commandments in all things;
44. And by your hands I will work a marvelous work among the children
of men unto the convincing of men of their sins, that they may come unto
repentance, and that they may come unto the kingdom of my Father.
45. Wherefore, the blessings which I give unto you are above all
things.
46. And after that you have received this, if you keep not my
commandments you cannot be saved in the kingdom of my Father.
47. Behold, I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, and your
Redeemer, by the power of my Spirit have spoken it. Amen.
In this manner did the Lord continue to give us instructions from
time to time, concerning the duties which now devolved upon us; and among
many other things of the kind, we obtained of Him the following, by the
spirit of prophecy and revelation; which not only gave us much
information, but also pointed out to us the precise day upon which,
according to His will and commandment, we should proceed to organize His
Church once more here upon the earth:
A Revelation on Church Government.
1. The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one
thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and
established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and
commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the
month which is called April--
2. Which commandments were given to Joseph Smith, Jun., who was
called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first
elder of this Church;
3. And to Oliver Cowdery, who was also called of God, an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to be the second elder of this church, and ordained under
his hand;
4. And this according to the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, to whom be all glory, both now and for ever. Amen.
5. After it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had
received a remission of his sins, he was entangled again in the vanities
of the world;
6. But after repenting and humbling himself sincerely through faith,
God ministered unto him by an holy angel whose countenance was as
lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all other
whiteness;
7. And gave unto him commandments which instilled him;
8. And gave him power from on high, by the means which were before
prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon;
9. Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the
gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also.
10. Which was given by inspiration, and is confirmed to others by the
ministering of angels, and is declared unto the world by them--
11. Proving to the world that the Holy Scriptures are true, and that
God does inspire men and call them to the holy work in this age and
generation, as well as in generations of old,
12. Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and for
ever. Amen.
13. Therefore having so great witnesses by them shall the world be
judged, even as many as shall hereafter come to a knowledge of this work.
14. And those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall
receive a crown of eternal life;
15. But those who harden their hearts in unbelief and reject it, it
shall turn to their own condemnation--
16. For the Lord God hath spoken it; and we, the elders of the church
have heard and bear witness to the words of the glorious Majesty on high,
to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
17. By these things we know that there is a God in heaven, who is
infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same
unchangeable
God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in
them;
18. And that he created man, male, and female, after his own image
and in his own likeness, created he them;
19. And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve
him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being
whom they should worship.
20. But by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual
and devilish, and became fallen man.
21. Wherefore, the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is
written in those scriptures which have been given of him.
22. He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.
23. He was crucified, died, and rose again the third day:
24. And ascended into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the
Father, to reign with almighty power according to the will of the Father;
25. That as many as would believe and be baptized in his holy name,
and endure in faith to the end, should be saved--
26. Not only those who believe after he came in the meridian of time,
in the flesh, but all those from the beginning, even as many as were
before he came, who believed in the words of the holy prophets, who spake
as they were inspired by the gift of the Holy Ghost, who truly testified
of him in all things, should have eternal life,
27. As well as those who should come after, who should believe in the
gifts and callings of God by the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the
Father and of the Son;
28. Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and
eternal, without end. Amen.
29. And we know that all men must repent and believe on the name of
Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on
his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
30. And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ is just and true;
31. And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and
serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength.
32. But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and
depart from the living God;
33. Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they
fall into temptation;
34. Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also.
35. And we know that these things are true and according to the
revelations of John, neither adding to, nor diminishing from the prophecy
of his book, the holy scriptures, or the revelations of God which shall
come hereafter by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, the voice of God,
or the ministering of angels.
36. And the Lord God has spoken it; and honor, power and glory be
rendered to his holy name, both now and ever. Amen.
37. And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the
manner of baptism--All those who humble themselves before God, and desire
to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits,
and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their
sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a
determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works
that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of
their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.
38. The duty of the elders, priests, teachers, deacons, and members
of the church of Christ--An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling to
baptize;
39. And to ordain other elders, priests, teachers, and deacons;
40. And to administer bread and wine--the emblems of the flesh and
blood of Christ--
41. And to confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the
laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, according
to the scriptures;
42. And to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the
church;
43. And to confirm the church by the laying on of the hands, and the
giving of the Holy Ghost;
44. And to take the lead of all meetings.
45. The elders are to conduct the meetings as they are led by the
Holy Ghost, according to the commandments and revelations of God.
46. The priest's duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and
baptize, and administer the sacrament,
47. And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray
vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.
48. And he may also ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons.
49. And he is to take the lead of meetings when there is no elder
present;
50. But when there is an elder present, he is only to preach, teach,
expound, exhort, and baptize,
51. And visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray
vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.
52. In all these duties the priest is to assist the elder if occasion
requires.
53. The teacher's duty is to watch over the church always, and be
with and strengthen them;
54. And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness
with each other, neither lying, back biting, nor evil speaking;
55. And see that the church meet together often, and also see that
all the members do their duty.
56. And he is to take the lead of meetings in the absence of the
elder or priest--
57. And is to be assisted always, in all his duties in the church, by
the deacons, if occasion requires.
58. But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize,
administer the sacrament or lay on hands;
59. They are, however, to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and
invite all to come unto Christ.
60. Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained
according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be
ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains
him.
61. The several elders composing this church of Christ are to meet in
conference once in three months, or from time to time as said conferences
shall direct or appoint;
62. And said conferences are to do whatever church business is
necessary to be done at the time.
63. The elders are to receive their licenses from other elders, by
vote of the church to which they belong, or from the conferences.
64. Each priest, teacher, or deacon, who is ordained by a priest, may
take a certificate from him at the time, which certificate, when presented
to an elder, shall entitle him to a license, which shall authorize him to
perform the duties of his calling; or he may receive it from a conference.
65. No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where
there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of
that church;
66. But the presiding elders, traveling bishops, high councilors,
high priests, and elders, may have the privilege of ordaining, where there
is no branch of the church that a vote may be called.
67. Every president of the high priesthood (or presiding elder),
bishop, high councilor and high priest, is to be ordained by the direction
of a high council or general conference.
68. The duty of the members after they are received by baptism.--
The elders or priests are to have a sufficient time to expound all
things concerning the church of Christ to their understanding, previous to
their partaking of the sacrament and being confirmed by the laying on of
the hands of the elders, so that all things may be done in order.
69. And the members shall manifest before the church, and also before
the elders, by a godly walk and conversation, that they are worthy of it,
that there may be works and faith agreeable to the Holy
Scriptures--walking in holiness before the Lord.
70. Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring
them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon
them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name.
71. No one can be received into the church of Christ, unless he has
arrived unto the years of accountability before God, and is capable of
repentance.
72. Baptism is to be administered in the following manner unto all
those who repent--
73. The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus
Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has
presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or
her by name; Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
74. Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth
again out of the water.
75. It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of
bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;
76. And the elder or priest shall administer it, and after this
manner shall he administer it--he shall kneel with the church and call
upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying;
77. O God, the Eternal Father we ask thee in the name of thy Son,
Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those
who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son
and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to
take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his
commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit
to be with them. Amen.
78. The manner of administering the wine--he shall take the cup also
and say:
79. O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son,
Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those
who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy
Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness
unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember
him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
80. Any member of the church of Christ transgressing, or being
overtaken in a fault, shall be dealt with as the scriptures direct.
81. It shall be the duty of the several churches, composing the
church of Christ, to send one or more of their teachers to attend the
several conferences held by the elders of the church,
82. With a list of the names of the several members uniting
themselves with the church, since the last conference; or send by the hand
of some priest; so that a regular list of all the names of the whole
church may be kept in a book by one of the elders whomsoever the other
elders shall appoint from time to time;
83. And also, if any have been expelled from the church, so that
their names may be blotted out of the general church record of names.
84. All members removing from the church where they reside, if going
to a church where they are not known may take a letter, certifying that
they are regular members and in good standing, which certificate may be
signed by any elder or priest if the member receiving the letter is
personally acquainted with the elder or priest, or it may be signed by the
teachers or deacons of the church.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BOOK OF MORMON PUBLISHED--THE CHURCH ORGANIZED.
MEANTIME, our translation drawing to a close, we went to Palmyra,
Wayne county, New York, secured the copyright, and agreed with Mr. Egbert
B. Grandin to print five thousand copies for the sum of three thousand
dollars.
I wish to mention here that the title-page of the Book of Mormon is a
literal translation, taken from the very last leaf on the left hand side
of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has
been translated, the language of the whole running the same as all Hebrew
writing in general;*1 and that said title page is not by any means a
modern composition, either of mine or of any other man who has lived or
does live in this generation. Therefore, in order to correct an error,
which generally exists concerning it, I give below that part of the
title-page of the English version of the Book of Mormon, which is a
genuine and literal translation of the title-page of the original Book of
Mormon as recorded on the plates:
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
An account written by the hand of Mormon, upon Plates, taken from
the Plates of Nephi.
Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi,
and also of the Lamanites--Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of
the house of Israel, and also to Jew and Gentile--Written by way of
commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation--Written
and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be
destroyed--To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the
interpretation thereof--Sealed by the hand of Moroni and hid up unto the
Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile--The interpretation
thereof by the gift of God.
An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also which is a record of
the people of Jared who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the
language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to
heaven--Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what
great things the Lord hath done for their father; and that they may know
the covenants of the Lord that they are not cast off forever--And also to
the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the
Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations--And now, if there are
faults they are the mistakes of men wherefore, condemn not the things of
God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.
The remainder of the title-page is, of course, modern.
A Commandment of God and not of man, to Martin Harris, given
(Manchester, New York, March, 1830,) by Him who is Eternal.
1. I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord, yea, even I am he, the
beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world.
2. I, having accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am,
even the Father, concerning me--having done this that I might subdue all
things unto myself---
3. Retaining all power even to the destroying of Satan and his works
at the end of the world, and the last great day of judgment, which I shall
pass upon the inhabitants thereof, judging every man according to his
works and the deed: which he hath done.
4. And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am
endless.
5. Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes
shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who
are found on my left hand.
6. Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this
torment, but it is written endless torment.
7. Again, it is written eternal damnation: wherefore it is more
express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the
children of men, altogether for my name's glory.
8. Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet
unto you to know even as mine apostles.
9. I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that
you may enter into my rest.
10. For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For,
behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is
endless punishment, for Endless is my name, wherefore--
11. Eternal punishment is God's punishment.
12. Endless punishment is God's punishment.
13. Wherefore, I command you to repent, and keep the commandments
which you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., in
my name;
14. And it is by my almighty power that you have received them.
15. Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by
the rod of my mouth and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings
be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard
to bear you know not.
16. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent;
17. But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I;
18. Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both
body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and
shrink--
19. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished
my preparations unto the children of men.
20. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with
my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these
punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in
the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.
21. And I command you, that you preach naught but repentance and show
not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me.
22. For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive;
wherefore, they must not know these things lest they perish,
23. Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my
Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.
24. I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his
will,
25. And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife; nor seek thy neighbor's life.
26. And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own
property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon,
which contains the truth and the word of God--
27. Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew,
of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and
look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.
28. And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as
in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as
well as in private.
29. And thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the
mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou
shalt be permitted to see.
30. And thou shalt do it with all humility, trusting in me, reviling
not against revilers.
31. And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare
repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism and
by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.
32. Behold, this is a great and the last commandment which I shall
give unto you concerning this matter; for this shall suffice for thy daily
walk, even unto the end of thy life.
33. And misery thou shalt receive if thou wilt slight these counsels,
yea, even the destruction of thyself and property.
34. Impart a portion of thy property, yea, even part of thy lands,
and all save the support of thy family.
35. Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release
thyself from bondage.
36. Leave thy house and home, except when thou shalt desire to see
thy family;
37. And speak freely to all; yea, preach, exhort, declare the truth,
even with a loud voice, with a sound of rejoicing, crying--Hosanna,
hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord God!
38. Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great
shall be your blessing--yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures
of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof.
39. Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy
heart for gladness?
40. Or canst thou run about longer as a blind guide?
41. Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely
before me: yea, come unto me thy Savior. Amen.
Whilst the Book of Mormon was in the hands of the printer, we still
continued to bear testimony and give information, as far as we had
opportunity; and also made known to our brethren that we had received a
commandment to organize the Church; and accordingly we met together for
that purpose, at the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, Sen., (being six in
number,) on Tuesday, the sixth day of April, A. D., one thousand eight
hundred and thirty. Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to our
Heavenly Father, we proceeded, according to previous commandment, to call
on our brethren to know whether they accepted us as their teachers in the
things of the Kingdom of God, and whether they were satisfied that we
should proceed and be organized as a Church according to said commandment
which we had received. To these several propositions they consented by a
unanimous vote. I then laid my hands upon Oliver Cowdery, and ordained
him an Elder of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"; after
which, he ordained me also to the office of an Elder of said Church. We
then took bread, blessed it, and brake it with them; also wine, blessed
it, and drank it with them. We then laid our hands on each individual
member of the Church present, that they might receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and be confirmed members of the Church of Christ. The Holy Ghost
was poured out upon us to a very great degree--some prophesied, whilst we
all praised the Lord, and rejoiced exceedingly. Whilst yet together, I
received the following commandment:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., given at Fayette, Seneca County,
New York, April 6th, 1830.
1. Behold, there shall be a record kept among you; and in it thou
shall be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father and the
grace of your Lord Jesus Christ,
2. Being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof,
and to build it up unto the most holy faith,
3. Which church was organized and established in the year of your
Lord eighteen hundred and thirty, in the fourth month, and on the sixth
day of the month, which is called April.
4. Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his
words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them,
walking in all holiness before me;
5. For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all
patience and faith.
6. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail
against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness
from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his
name's glory.
7. For thus saith the Lord God, him have I inspired to move the cause
of Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his
prayers I have heard.
8. Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he
shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of rejoicing are come unto the
remission of his sins, and the manifestations of my blessings upon his
works.
9. For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with
a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given
him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was
crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission
of sins unto the contrite heart.
10. Wherefore it behooveth me that he should be ordained by you,
Oliver Cowdery, mine apostle;
11. This being an ordinance unto you, that you are an elder under his
hand, he being the first unto you, that you might be an elder unto this
church of Christ, bearing my name--
12. And the first preacher of this church unto the church, and before
the world, yea, before the Gentiles; yea, and thus saith the Lord God, lo,
lo! to the Jews also. Amen.
We now proceeded to call out and ordain some others of the brethren
to different offices of the Priesthood, according as the Spirit manifested
unto us: and after a happy time spent in witnessing and feeling for
ourselves the powers and blessings of the Holy Ghost, through the grace of
God bestowed upon us, we dismissed with the pleasing knowledge that we
were now individually members of, and acknowledged of God, "The Church of
Jesus Christ," organized in accordance with commandments and revelations
given by Him to ourselves in these last days, as well as according to the
order of the Church as recorded in the New Testament. Several persons who
had attended the above meeting, became convinced of the truth and came
forward shortly after, and were received into the Church; among the rest,
my own father and mother were baptized, to my great joy and consolation;
and about the same time, Martin Harris and Orrin Porter Rockwell.
Revelation to the Church of Christ which was established in these
last days, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty.
Given at Manchester, New York, April, 1830, in consequence of some
desiring to unite with the Church without rebaptism, who had previously
been baptized.
1. Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be
done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant,
even that which was from the beginning.
2. Wherefore, although a man should be baptized an hundred times it
availeth him nothing, for you cannot enter in at the strait gate by the
law of Moses, neither by your dead works
3. For it is because of your dead works, that I have caused this last
covenant and this church to be built up unto me, even as in days of old.
4. Wherefore, enter ye in at the gate, as I have commanded, and seek
not to counsel your God. Amen.
The following persons being anxious to know of the Lord what might be
their respective duties relation to this word, I enquired of the Lord, and
received for them the following:
Revelation to Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Joseph
Smith, Sen., and Joseph Knight, Sen. Given at Manchester, New York, April
1830.
1. Behold, I speak unto you, Oliver, a few words. Behold, thou art
blessed, and art under no condemnation. But beware of pride, lest thou
shouldst enter into temptation.
2. Make known thy calling unto the church, and also before the world,
and thy heart shall be opened to preach the truth from henceforth and
forever. Amen.
3. Behold, I speak unto you, Hyrum, a few words; for thou also art
under no condemnation, and thy heart is opened, and thy tongue loosed; and
thy calling is to exhortation, and to strengthen the church continually.
Wherefore thy duty is unto the church forever and this because of thy
family. Amen.
4. Behold, I speak a few words unto you, Samuel; for thou also art
under no condemnation, and thy calling is to exhortation and to strengthen
the church, and thou art not as yet called to preach before the world.
Amen.
5. Behold, I speak a few words unto you, Joseph; for thou also art
under no condemnation and thy calling also is to exhortation, and to
strengthen the church; and this is thy duty from henceforth and forever.
Amen.
6. Behold, I manifest unto you, Joseph Knight, by these words, that
you must take up your cross, in the which you must pray vocally before the
world as well as in secret, and in your family, and among your friends,
and in all places.
7. And, behold, it is your duty to unite with the true church, and
give your language to exhortation continually, that you may receive the
reward of the laborer. Amen.
CHAPTER IX.
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE PUBLIC MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH.
ON Sunday, April 11th, 1830, Oliver Cowdery preached the first public
discourse that was delivered by any of our number. Our meeting was held,
by previous appointment, at the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, Sen., Fayette.
Large numbers of people attended, and the same day the following were
baptized, viz., Hiram Page, Katharine Page, Christian Whitmer, Anne
Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Elizabeth Whitmer; and on the 18th day, Peter
Whitmer, Sen., Mary Whitmer, William Jolly, Elizabeth Jolly, Vincent
Jolly, Richard B. Peterson, and Elizabeth Anne Whitmer--all by Oliver
Cowdery, in Seneca Lake.
During this month of April, I went on a visit to the residence of Mr.
Joseph Knight, of Colesville, Broome county, New York, with whom and his
family I had been for some time acquainted, and whose name I had
previously mentioned as having been so kind and thoughtful towards us
while translating the Book of Mormon. Mr. Knight and his family were
Universalists, but were willing to reason with me upon my religious views,
and were, as usual, friendly and hospitable. We held several meetings in
the neighborhood; we had many friends, and some enemies. Our meetings
were well attended, and many began to pray fervently to Almighty God, that
He would give them wisdom to understand the truth.
Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly, was Newel Knight,
son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the
important subject of man's eternal salvation. We had got into the habit
of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and
take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met
together, he rather excused himself. I tried to prevail upon him, making
use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mud-hole, would he
not try to help himself out? And I further said that we were willing now
to help him out of the mud-hole. He replied, that provided he had got
into a mud-hole through carelessness, he would rather wait and get out
himself, than to have others help him; and so he would wait until he could
get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray. Accordingly, he
deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods;
where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts
to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty,
in refusing to pray in the presence of others. He began to feel uneasy,
and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching
his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He
requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering
very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner;
his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance
possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the
apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.
His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives and
in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to
witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in
getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me,
and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him,
saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast
him out.
I replied, "If you know that I can, it shall be done," and then
almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of
Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said
that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight. This was the
first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it; and it
was done, not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and
by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the
dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen.
This scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had
departed from our friend his countenance became natural, his distortions
of body ceased, and almost immediately the Spirit of the Lord descended
upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view. So soon as
consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged
to lay him upon his bed, and wait upon him for some time. He afterwards
related his experience as follows:
I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting on me, and
immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view. I felt
myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in
contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the
room. By and by, I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and
the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my
situation, and I found that the Spirit of the Lord had actually
caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were
pressing against the beams.
All this was witnessed by many, to their great astonishment and
satisfaction, when they saw the devil thus cast out, and the power of God,
and His Holy Spirit thus made manifest. As may be expected, such a scene
as this contributed much to make believers of those who witnessed it, and
finally the greater part of them became members of the Church.
Soon after this occurrence I returned to Fayette, Seneca county. The
Book of Mormon (the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim,) had now been
published for some time, and as the ancient prophet had predicted of it,
"it was accounted as a strange thing." No small stir was created by its
appearance. Great opposition and much persecution followed the believers
of its authenticity. But it had now come to pass that truth had sprung
out of the earth, and righteousness had looked down from heaven, so we
feared not our opponents, knowing that we had both truth and righteousness
on our side, that we had both the Father and the Son, because we had the
doctrines of Christ, and abided in them; and therefore we continued to
preach and to give information to all who were willing to hear.
During the last week in May, the above-mentioned Newel Knight came to
visit us at Fayette, and was baptized by David Whitmer.
On the ninth day of June, 1830, we held our first conference as an
organized Church. Our numbers were about thirty, besides whom believers
or anxious to learn. Having opened by singing and prayer, we partook
together of the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We then proceeded to confirm several who had lately been baptized, after
which we called out and ordained several to the various offices of the
Priesthood. Much exhortation and instruction was given, and the Holy
Ghost was poured out upon us in a miraculous manner--many of our number
prophesied, whilst others had the heavens opened to their view, and were
so overcome that we had to lay them on beds or other convenient places;
among the rest was Brother Newel Knight, who had to be placed on a bed,
being unable to help himself. By his own account of the transaction, he
could not understand why we should lay him on the bed, as he felt no sense
of weakness. He felt his heart filled with love, with glory, and pleasure
unspeakable, and could discern all that was going on in the room; when all
of a sudden a vision of the future burst upon him. He saw there
represented the great work which through my instrumentality was yet to be
accomplished. He saw heaven opened, and beheld the Lord Jesus Christ,
seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, and had it made plain to
his understanding that the time would come when he would be admitted into
His presence to enjoy His society for ever and ever. When their bodily
strength was restored to these brethren, they shouted hosannas to God and
the Lamb, and rehearsed the glorious things which they had seen and felt,
whilst they were yet in the spirit.
Such scenes as these were calculated to inspire our hearts with joy
unspeakable, and fill us with awe and reverence for that Almighty Being,
by whose grace we had been called to be instrumental in bringing about,
for the children of men, the enjoyment of such glorious blessings as were
now at this time poured out upon us. To find ourselves engaged in the
very same order of things as observed by the holy Apostles of old; to
realize the importance and solemnity of such proceedings; and to witness
and feel with our own natural senses, the like glorious manifestations of
the powers of the priesthood, the gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost,
and the goodness and condescension of a merciful God unto such as obey the
everlasting Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, combined to create within us
sensations of rapturous gratitude, and inspire us with fresh zeal and
energy in the cause of truth.
Shortly after this conference, David Whitmer baptized the following
persons, in Seneca Lake: viz., John Poorman, John Jolly, Julia Anne Jolly,
Harriet Jolly, Jerusha Smith, Katherine Smith, William Smith, Don C.
Smith, Peter Rockwell, Caroline Rockwell, and Electa Rockwell.
Immediately after conference I returned to my own house, and from
thence, accompanied by my wife, Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer and David
Whitmer, went again on a visit to Mr. Knight, of Colesville, Broome
county. We found a number in the neighborhood still believing, and now
anxious to be baptized. We appointed a meeting for the Sabbath, and on
the afternoon of Saturday we erected a dam across a stream of water, which
was convenient, for the purpose of there attending to the ordinance of
baptism; but during the night a mob collected and tore down our dam, which
hindered us from attending to the baptism on the Sabbath. We afterward
found out that this mob had been instigated to this act of molestation by
certain sectarian priests of the neighborhood, who began to consider their
craft in danger, and took this plan to stop the progress of the truth; and
the sequel will show how determinedly they prosecuted their opposition, as
well as to how little purpose in the end. The Sabbath arrived, and we
held our meeting. Oliver Cowdery preached, and others of us bore
testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon, the doctrine of repentance,
baptism for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the gift of
the Holy Ghost, etc. Amongst our audience were those who had torn down
our dam, and who seemed desirous to give us trouble, but did not until
after the meeting was dismissed, when they immediately commenced talking
to those whom they considered our friends, and tried to turn them against
us and our doctrines.
Amongst the many present at this meeting, was one Emily Coburn,
sister to the wife of Newel Knight. The Rev. Mr. Shearer, a divine of the
Presbyterian faith, who had considered himself her pastor, came to
understand that she was likely to believe our doctrine, and had, a short
time previous to this meeting, come to labor with her. But having spent
some time with her without being able to persuade her against us, he
endeavored to have her leave her sister's house and go with him to her
father's, who lived at a distance. For this purpose, he had recourse to
stratagem; he told her that one of her brothers was waiting at a certain
place desirous to have her go with him. He succeeded thus in getting her
a little distance from the house, when, seeing that her brother was not in
waiting for her, she refused to go any further with him; upon which he
took hold of her by the arm to force her along. But her sister was soon
with them, and as the two women were too many for him to cope with, he was
forced to sneak off without accomplishing his errand, after all his labor
and ingenuity. Nothing daunted, however, he went to her father,
representing to him some thing or other, which induced the old gentleman
to give him a power of attorney, which, as soon as our meeting was over,
on the above-named Sunday evening, he immediately served upon her, and
carried her off to her father's residence by open violence against her
will. All his labor was in vain, however, for the said Emily Coburn in a
short time afterwards, was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Early on Monday morning we were on the alert, and before our enemies
were aware of our proceedings, we had repaired the dam, and the following
thirteen persons baptized, by Oliver Cowdery; viz., Emma Smith, Hezekiah
Peck and wife, Joseph Knight, Sen., and wife, William Stringham and wife,
Joseph Knight, Jun., Aaron Culver and wife, Levi Hale, Polly Knight, and
Julia Stringham.
Before the baptizing was entirely finished, the mob began again to
collect and shortly after we had retired, they amounted to about fifty
men. They surrounded the house of Mr. Knight whither we had
retired--raging with anger, and apparently determined to commit violence
upon us. Some asked us questions, others threatened us, so that we
thought it wisdom to leave and go to the house of Newel Knight. There
also they followed us, and it was only by the exercise of great prudence
on our part, and reliance in our heavenly Father, that they were kept from
laying violent hands upon us; and so long as they chose to stay, we were
obliged to answer them various unprofitable questions, and bear with
insults and threatenings without number.
We had appointed a meeting for this evening, for the purpose of
attending to the confirmation of those who had been the same morning
baptized. The time appointed had arrived and our friends had nearly all
collected together, when to my surprise, I was visited by a constable, and
arrested by him on a warrant, on the charge of being a disorderly person,
of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon, etc.
The constable informed me, soon after I had been arrested, that the plan
of those who had got out the warrant was to get me into the hands of the
mob, who were now lying in ambush for me; but that he was determined to
save me from them, as he had found me to be a different sort of person
from what I had been represented to him. I soon found that he had told me
the truth in this matter, for not far from Mr. Knight's house, the wagon
in which we had set out was surrounded by a mob, who seemed only to await
some signal from the constable; but to their great disappointment, he gave
the horse the whip, and drove me out of their reach.
Whilst driving in great haste one of the wagon wheels came off, which
left us once more very nearly surrounded by them, as they had come on in
close pursuit. However, we managed to replace the wheel and again left
them behind us. He drove on to the town of South Bainbridge, Chenango
county, where he lodged me for the time being in an upper room of a
tavern; and in order that all might be right with himself and with me
also, he slept during the night with his feet against the door, and a
loaded musket by his side, whilst I occupied a bed which was in the room;
he having declared that if we were interrupted unlawfully, he would fight
for me, and defend me as far as it was in his power.
On the day following, a court was convened for the purpose of
investigating those charges which had been preferred against me. A great
excitement prevailed on account of the scandalous falsehoods which had
been circulated, the nature of which will appear in the sequel. In the
meantime, my friend, Joseph Knight, had repaired to two of his neighbors,
viz., James Davidson and John Reid, Esqrs., respectable farmers, men
renowned for their integrity, and well versed in the laws of their
country; and retained them on my behalf during my trial.
At length the trial commenced amidst a multitude of spectators, who
in general evinced a belief that I was guilty of all that had been
reported concerning me, and of course were very zealous that I should be
punished according to my crimes. Among many witnesses called up against
me, was Mr. Josiah Stoal--of whom I have made mention as having worked for
him some time--and examined to the following effect:
"Did not the prisoner, Joseph Smith, have a horse of you?"
"Yes."
"Did not he go to you and tell you that an angel had appeared unto
him and authorized him to get the horse from you?"
"No, he told me no such story."
"Well, how had he the horse of you?"
"He bought him of me as any other man would."
"Have you had your pay?"
"That is not your business."
The question being again put, the witness replied:
"I hold his note for the price of the horse, which I consider as good
as the pay; for I am well acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jun., and know him
to be an honest man; and if he wishes, I am ready to let him have another
horse on the same terms."
Mr. Jonathan Thompson was next called up and examined:
"Has not the prisoner, Joseph Smith Jun., had a yoke of oxen of you?"
"Yes."
"Did he not obtain them of you by telling you that he had a
revelation to the effect that he was to have them?"
"No, he did not mention a word of the kind concerning the oxen; he
purchased them the same as any other man would."
After a few more such attempts, the court was detained for a time, in
order that two young women, daughters of Mr. Stoal, with whom I had at
times kept company, might be sent for, in order, if possible, to elicit
something from them which might be made a pretext against me. The young
ladies arrived, and were severally examined touching my character and
conduct in general, but particularly as to my behavior towards them, both
in public and private; when they both bore such testimony in my favor as
left my enemies without a pretext on their account. Several other
attempts were made to prove something against me, and even circumstances
which were alleged to have taken place in Broome county, were brought
forward, but these my lawyers would not admit of as testimony against me;
in consequence of which my persecutors managed to detain the court until
they had succeeded in obtaining a warrant from Broome county, which
warrant they served upon me at the very moment that I was acquitted by
this court.
The constable who served this second warrant upon me had no sooner
arrested me than he began to abuse and insult me; and so unfeeling was he
with me, that although I had been kept all the day in court without
anything to eat since the morning, yet he hurried me off to Broome county,
a distance of about fifteen miles, before he allowed me any kind of food
whatever. He took me to a tavern, and gathered in a number of men, who
used every means to abuse, ridicule and insult me. They spit up on me,
pointed their fingers at me, saying, "Prophesy, prophesy!" and thus did
they imitate those who crucified the Savior of mankind, not knowing what
they did.
We were at this time not far distant from my own house. I wished to
be allowed the privilege of spending the night with my wife at home
offering any wished for security for my appearance; but this was denied
me. I applied for something to eat. The constable ordered me some crusts
of bread and water, which was the only food I that night received. At
length we retired to bed. The constable made me lie next the wall. He
then laid himself down by me and put his arm around me, and upon my moving
in the least, would clench me fast, fearing that I intended to escape from
him; and in this very disagreeable manner did we pass the night.
Next day I was brought before the magistrate's court at Colesville,
Broome county, and put upon my trial. My former faithful friends and
lawyers were again at my side; my former persecutors were arrayed against
me. Many witnesses were again called forward and examined, some of whom
swore to the most palpable falsehoods, and like the false witnesses which
had appeared against me the day previous, they contradicted themselves so
plainly that the court would not admit their testimony. Others were
called, who showed by their zeal that they were willing enough to prove
something against me, but all they could do was to tell something which
somebody else had told them.
In this frivolous and vexatious manner did they proceed for a
considerable time, when finally, Newel Knight was called up and examined
by Lawyer Seymour, who had been especially sent for on this occasion. One
Lawyer Burch, also, was on the side of the prosecution; but Mr. Seymour
seemed to be a more zealous Presbyterian, and appeared very anxious and
determined that the people should not be deluded by any one professing the
power of godliness, and not "denying the power thereof."
Mr. Knight was sworn, and Mr. Seymour interrogated him as follows:
"Did the prisoner, Joseph Smith, Jun., cast the devil out of you?"
"No, sir."
"Why, have not you had the devil cast out of you?"
"Yes, sir."
"And had not Joe Smith some hand in its being done? "
"Yes, sir."
"And did not he cast him out of you?"
"No, sir; it was done by the power of God, and Joseph Smith was the
instrument in the hands of God, on the occasion. He commanded him to come
out of me in the name of Jesus Christ."
"And are you sure that it was the devil?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you see him after he was cast out of you?"
"Yes sir! I saw him."
"Pray, what did he look like?"
(Here one of my lawyers informed the witness that he need not answer
the question. The witness replied:
"I believe I need not answer your last question, but I will do it,
provided I be allowed to ask you one question first, and you answer me,
viz., Do you, Mr. Seymour, understand the things of the spirit?
"No," answered Mr. Seymour, "I do not pretend to such big things.'
"Well, then," replied Knight, "it would be of no use to tell you what
the devil looked like, for it was a spiritual sight, and spiritually
discerned; and of course you would not understand it were I to tell you of
it."
The lawyer dropped his head, whilst the loud laugh of the audience
proclaimed his discomfiture.
Mr. Seymour now addressed the court, and in a long and violent
harangue endeavored to blacken my character and bring me in guilt of the
charges which had been brought against me. Among other things, he brought
up the story of my having been a money-digger; and in this manner
proceeded, hoping evidently to influence the court and the people against
me.
Mr. Davidson and Mr. Reid followed on my behalf. They held forth in
true colors the nature of the prosecution, the malignance of intention,
and the apparent disposition to persecute their client, rather than to
afford him justice. They took up the different arguments which had been
brought by the lawyers for the prosecution, and having shown their utter
futility and misapplication, then proceeded to scrutinize the evidence
which had been adduced, and each, in his turn, thanked God that he had
been engaged in so good a cause as that of defending a man whose character
stood so well the test of such a strict investigation. In fact, these
men, although not regular lawyers, were upon this occasion able to put to
silence their opponents and convince the court that I was innocent. They
spoke like men inspired of God, whilst those who were arrayed against me
trembled under the sound of their voices, and quailed before them like
criminals before a bar of justice.
The majority of the assembled multitude had now begun to find that
nothing could be sustained against me. Even the constable who arrested
me, and treated me so badly, now came and apologized to me and asked my
forgiveness for his behavior towards me; and so far was he changed, that
he informed me that the mob were determined, if the court acquitted me,
that they would have me, and rail-ride me, and tar and feather me; and
further, that he was willing to favor me and lead me out in safety by a
private way.
The court found the charges against me not sustained; I was
accordingly acquitted, to the great satisfaction of my friends and
vexation of my enemies, who were still determined upon molesting me. But
through the instrumentality of my new friend the constable, I was enabled
to escape them and make my way in safety to my wife's sister's house,
where I found my wife awaiting with much anxiety the issue of those
ungodly proceedings, and in company with her I arrived next day in safety
at my own house.
CHAPTER X.
FURTHER MOLESTATION AT COLESVILLE BY MOBS--
THE REVELATION EMBODYING THE VISION OF MOSES.
AFTER a few days I returned to Colesville, in company with Oliver
Cowdery, for the purpose of confirming those whom we had been forced to
leave for a time. We had scarcely arrived at Mr. Knight's, when the mob
was seen collecting together to oppose us, and we considered it wisdom to
leave for home, which we did, without even waiting for any refreshments.
Our enemies pursued us, and it was oftentimes as much as we could do to
elude them. However, we managed to get home, after having traveled all
night, except a short time, during which we were forced to rest ourselves
under a large tree by the wayside, sleeping and watching alternately.
Thus were we persecuted on account of our religious faith--in a
country the Constitution of which guarantees to every man the indefeasible
right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience--and
by men, too, who were professors of religion, and who were not backward to
maintain the right of religious liberty for themselves, though they could
thus wantonly deny it to us. For instance, Cyrus McMaster, a Presbyterian
of high standing in his church, was one of the chief instigators of these
persecutions; and he at one time told me personally that he considered me
guilty without judge or jury. The celebrated Dr. Boyington, also a
Presbyterian, was another instigator of these deeds of outrage; whilst a
young man named Benton, of the same religious faith, swore out the first
warrant against me.
I could mention many others also, but for brevity's sake, will make
these suffice for the present.
I will say, however, that amid all the trials and tribulations we had
to wade through, the Lord who well knew our infantile and delicate
situation, vouchsafed for us a supply of strength, and granted us "line
upon line of knowledge--here a little and there a little," of which the
following was a precious morsel:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., given June, 1830.
1. The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses
was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain.
2. And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory
of God was upon Moses: therefore Moses could endure his presence.
3. And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God
Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or
end of years; and is not this endless?
4. And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee
the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end,
and also my words, for they never cease.
5. Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my
glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the
flesh on the earth.
6. And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the
similitude of mine Only Begotten and mine Only Begotten is and shall be
the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside
me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.
7. And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son;
for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8. And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon
which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and
all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he
greatly marveled and wondered.
9. And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was
not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto
himself, he fell unto the earth.
10. And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours
before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he
said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which
thing I never had supposed.
11. But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my
spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should
have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I
beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.
12. And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold,
Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.
13. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who
art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only
Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
14. For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should
come upon me, and I were strengthened before him. But I can look upon
thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?
15. Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether
withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me?
And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God,
for him only shalt thou serve.
16. Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me:
Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.
17. And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of
the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only
Begotten, and worship me.
18. And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God. I have
other things to inquire of him, for his glory has been upon me, wherefore
I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
19. And now, when Moses had said these words Satan cried with a loud
voice, and rent upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only
Begotten, worship me.
20. And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as
he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling
upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me,
Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
21. And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses
received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only
Begotten, depart hence, Satan.
22. And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with
weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even
from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.
23. And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of
wickedness it is not had among the children of men.
24. And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the
presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled
with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son;
25. And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for
it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses,
for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger
than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God.
26. And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou
shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.
27. And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast
his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a
particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of
God.
28. And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a
soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God, and
their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.
29. And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and
there were inhabitants on the face thereof.
30. And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me,
I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?
31. And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses
stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the
Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things.
Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
32. And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine
Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
33. And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them
for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only
Begotten.
34. And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
35. But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof,
give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away
by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and
innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for
they are mine and I know them.
36. And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be
merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and
the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will
be content.
37. And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying; The heavens, they are
many, and they cannot be numbered unto man, but they are numbered unto me,
for they are mine.
38. And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even
so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my
words.
39. For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man.
40. And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this
earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I
shall speak.
41. And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as
naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold,
I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among
the children of men--among as many as shall believe.
42. These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of
which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are
spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even
so. Amen.
Meantime, and notwithstanding all the rage of our enemies, we had
much consolation, and many things occurred to strengthen our faith and
cheer our hearts.
After our departure from Colesville, after the trial, the Church
there were very anxious, as might be expected, concerning our again
visiting them, during which time Sister Knight, wife of Newel Knight, had
a dream, which enabled her to say that we would visit them that day, which
really came to pass, for a few hours afterwards we arrived; and thus was
our faith much strengthened concerning dreams and visions in the last
days, foretold by the ancient Prophet Joel; and although we this time were
forced to seek safety from our enemies by flight, yet did we feel
confident that eventually we should come off victorious, if we only
continued faithful to Him who had called us forth from darkness into the
marvelous light of the everlasting Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Shortly after our return home, we received the following
commandments:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, given at
Harmony, Pennsylvania, July, 1830.
1. Behold thou wast called and chosen to write the Book of Mormon,
and to my ministry; and I have lifted thee up out of thine afflictions,
and have counseled thee, that thou hast been delivered from all thine
enemies, and thou hast been delivered from the powers of Satan and from
darkness!
2. Nevertheless, thou art not excusable in thy transgressions;
nevertheless, go thy way and sin no more.
3. Magnify thine office; and after thou hast sowed thy fields and
secured them, go speedily unto the church which is in Colesville, Fayette,
and Manchester, and they shall support thee; and I will bless them both
spiritually and temporally;
4. But if they receive thee not, I will send upon them a cursing
instead of a blessing.
5. And thou shalt continue in calling upon God in my name, and
writing the things which shall be given thee by the Comforter, and
expounding all scriptures unto the church,
6. And it shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shall
speak and write, and they shall hear it, or I will send unto them a
cursing instead of a blessing.
7. For thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion; and in this thou
shalt have strength.
8. Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure
them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.
9. And in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is
not thy calling. Attend to thy calling and thou shalt have wherewith to
magnify thine office, and to expound all Scriptures, and continue in
laying on of the hands and confirming the churches.
10. And thy brother Oliver shall continue in bearing my name before
the world, and also to the church. And he shall not suppose that he can
say enough in my cause; and lo, I am with him to the end.
11. In me he shall have glory, and not of himself, whether in
weakness or in strength, whether in bonds or free;
12. And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and
declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I
will give unto him strength such as is not known among men.
13. Require not miracles, except I shall command you, except casting
out devils, healing the sick, and against poisonous serpents, and against
deadly poisons;
14. And these things ye shall not do, except it be required of you by
them who desire it, that the scriptures might be fulfilled; for ye shall
do according to that which is written.
15. And in whatsoever place ye shall enter, and they receive you not
in my name, ye shall leave a cursing instead of a blessing, by casting off
the dust of your feet against them as a testimony, and cleansing your feet
by the wayside.
16. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall lay their hands
upon you by violence, ye shall command to be smitten in my name; and,
behold, I will smite them according to your words, in mine own due time.
17. And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the
law.
18. And thou shalt take no purse nor scrip, neither staves, neither
two coats, for the church shall give unto thee in the very hour what thou
needest for food and for raiment, and for shoes and for money, and for
scrip.
19. For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning,
yea, even for the last time; yea, and also all those whom thou hast
ordained, and they shall do even according to this pattern. Amen.
Revelation given at Harmony, Pennsylvania, July, 1830.
1. Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto
you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who
receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.
2. A revelation I give unto you concerning my will and if thou art
faithful and walk in the paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy
life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion.
3. Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady,
whom I have called.
4. Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for
they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a
time to come.
5. And the office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my
servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions, with
consoling words, in the spirit of meekness.
6. And thou shalt go with him at the time of his going, and be unto
him for a scribe, while there is no one to be a scribe for him, that I may
send my servant, Oliver Cowdery, whithersoever I will.
7. And thou shalt be ordained under his hand to expound scriptures,
and to exhort the church, according as it shall be given thee by my
Spirit.
8. For he shall lay his hands upon thee, and thou shalt receive the
Holy Ghost, and thy time shall be given to writing, and to learning much.
9. And thou needest not fear, for thy husband shall support thee in
the church; for unto them is his calling, that all things might be
revealed unto them, whatsoever I will, according to their faith.
10. And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things
of this world, and seek for the things of a better.
11. And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred
hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in
my church.
12. For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of
the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a
blessing upon their heads.
13. Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the
covenants which thou hast made.
14. Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride. Let thy
soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall come upon him.
15. Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness
thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.
16. And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto
all. Amen.
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., Oliver Cowdery, and John Whitmer, given
at Harmony, Pennsylvania, July, 1830.
1. Behold, I say unto you that you shall let your time be devoted to
the studying of the scriptures, and to preaching, and to confirming the
church at Colesville, and to performing your labors on the land, such as
is required, until after you shall go to the west to hold the next
conference; and then it shall be made known what you shall do.
2. And all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by
much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith. Amen.
Shortly after we had received the above revelations, Oliver Cowdery
returned to Mr. Peter Whitmer's, Sen., and I began to arrange and copy the
revelations, which we had received from time to time; in which I was
assisted by John Whitmer, who now resided with me.
Whilst thus employed in the work appointed me by my Heavenly Father,
I received a letter from Oliver Cowdery, the contents of which gave me
both sorrow and uneasiness. Not having that letter now in my possession,
I cannot of course give it here in full, but merely an extract of the most
prominent parts, which I can yet, and expect long to, remember.
He wrote to inform me that he had discovered an error in one of the
commandments--Book of Doctrine and Covenants: "And truly manifest by their
works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto a remission of
their sins."
The above quotation, he said, was erroneous, and added: "I command
you in the name of God to erase those words, that no priestcraft be
amongst us!"
I immediately wrote to him in reply, in which I asked him by what
authority he took upon him to command me to alter or erase, to add to or
diminish from, a revelation or commandment from Almighty God.
A few days afterwards I visited him and Mr. Whitmer's family, when I
found the family in general of his opinion concerning the words above
quoted, and it was not without both labor and perseverance that I could
prevail with any of them to reason calmly on the subject. However,
Christian Whitmer at length became convinced that the sentence was
reasonable, and according to Scripture; and finally, with his assistance,
I succeeded in bringing, not only the Whitmer family, but also Oliver
Cowdery to acknowledge that they had been in error, and that the sentence
in dispute was in accordance with the rest of the commandment. And thus
was this error rooted out, which having its rise in presumption and rash
judgment, was the more particularly calculated (when once fairly
understood) to teach each and all of us the necessity of humility and
meekness before the Lord, that He might teach us of His ways, that we
might walk in His paths, and live by every word that proceedeth forth from
His mouth.
CHAPTER XI.
FURTHER LIGHT RESPECTING THE SACRAMENT--THE PROPHET'S REMOVAL TO FAYETTE.
EARLY in the month of August Newel Knight and his wife paid us a
visit at my place in Harmony, Pennsylvania; and as neither his wife nor
mine had been as yet confirmed, it was proposed that we should confirm
them, and partake together of the Sacrament, before he and his wife should
leave us. In order to prepare for this I set out to procure some wine for
the occasion, but had gone only a short distance when I was met by a
heavenly messenger, and received the following revelation, the first four
paragraphs of which were written at this time, and the remainder in the
September following:
Revelation given at Harmony, Pennsylvania, August, 1830.
1. Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your
Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful.
2. For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be
that ye do it with an eye single to my glory--remembering unto the Father
my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the
remission of your sins.
3. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not
purchase wine, neither strong drink of your enemies;
4. Wherefore, you shall partake of none except it is made new among
you; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up on the
earth.
5. Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour
cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth,
and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon,
containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed
the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;
6. And also with Elias, to whom I have committed the keys of bringing
to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy
prophets since the world began, concerning the last days;
7. And also John the son of Zacharias, which Zacharias he (Elias)
visited and gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be
John, and he should be filled with the spirit of Elias;
8. Which John I have sent unto you, my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun.,
and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto the first Priesthood which you have
received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron;
9. And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power
of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of
the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with
a curse;
10. And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your
fathers, by whom the promises remain;
11. And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of
all, the ancient of days;
12. And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto
you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and
especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of
the same things which I revealed unto them;
13. Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a
dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of
times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth;
14. And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the
world.
15. Wherefore, lift up your heart and rejoice, and gird up your
loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand
the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.
16. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having
on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to
commit unto you;
17. Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked;
18. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit,
which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and
be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful
until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also.
Amen.
In obedience to the above commandment, we prepared some wine of our
own making, and held our meeting, consisting only of five, viz., Newel
Knight and his wife, myself and my wife, and John Whitmer. We partook
together of the Sacrament, after which we confirmed these two sisters into
the Church, and spent the evening in a glorious manner. The Spirit of the
Lord was poured out upon us, we praised the Lord God, and rejoiced
exceedingly.
About this time a spirit of persecution began again to manifest
itself against us in the neighborhood where I now resided, which was
commenced by a man of the Methodist persuasion, who professed to be a
minister of God. This man had learned that my father-in-law and his
family had promised us protection, and were friendly, and inquiring into
the work; and knowing that if he could get him turned against me, my
friends in that place would be but few, he visited my father-in-law, and
told him falsehoods concerning me of the most shameful nature, which
turned the old gentleman and his family so much against us, that they
would no longer promise us protection nor believe our doctrines.
Towards the latter end of August, in company with John and David
Whitmer, and my brother Hyrum Smith, I visited the Church at Colesville,
New York. Well knowing the determined hostility of our enemies in that
quarter, and also knowing that it was our duty to visit the Church, we had
called upon our Heavenly Father, in mighty prayer, that He would grant us
an opportunity of meeting with them, that he would blind the eyes of our
enemies, so that they would not know us, and that we might on this
occasion return unmolested. Our prayers were not in vain, for when within
a little distance of Mr. Knight's place, we encountered a large company at
work upon the public road, amongst whom were several of our most bitter
enemies. They looked earnest at us, but not knowing us, we passed on
without interruption. That evening we assembled the Church, and confirmed
them, partook of the Sacrament, and held a happy meeting, having much
reason to rejoice in the God of our salvation, and sing hosannas to His
holy name. Next morning we set out on our return home, and although our
enemies had offered a reward of five dollars to any one who would give
them information of our arrival, yet did we get out of the neighborhood,
without the least annoyance, and arrived home in safety, Some few days
afterwards, however, Newel Knight came to my place, and from him we
learned that, very shortly after our departure, the mob came to know of
our having been there, when they immediately collected together, and
threatened the brethren, and very much annoyed them during all that day.
Meantime, Brother Knight had come with his wagon, prepared to move my
family to Fayette, New York. Mr. Whitmer, having heard of the
persecutions against us at Harmony, Pennsylvania, had invited us to go and
live with him; and during the last week in August we arrived at Fayette,
amidst the congratulations of our brethren and friends.
To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying
in wait to deceive, and seeking whom he might devour. Brother Hiram Page
had in his possession a certain stone, by which he had obtained certain
"revelations" concerning the upbuilding of Zion, the order of the
Church, etc., all of which were entirely at variance with the order
of God's house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late
revelations. As a conference meeting had been appointed for the 26th day
of September, I thought it wisdom not to do much more than to converse
with the brethren on the subject, until the conference should meet.
Finding, however, that many, especially the Whitmer family and Oliver
Cowdery, were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we
thought best to inquire of the Lord concerning so important a matter; and
before conference convened, we received the following:
Revelation to Oliver Cowdery, given at Fayette, New York,
September, 1830.
1. Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee,
that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt
teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandments
which I have given.
2. But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be
appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this Church excepting
my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.
3. And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto
him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the
revelations, with power and authority unto the Church.
4. And if thou art led at any time by the comforter to speak or teach
or at all times by the way of commandment unto the Church, thou mayest do
it.
5. But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom;
6. And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head
of the church;
7. For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the
revelations which are sealed until I shall appoint unto them another in
his stead.
8. And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the
Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them; and inasmuch as they receive thy
teachings, thou shalt cause my church to be established among them; and
thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment.
9. And now, behold, I say unto you that it is not revealed, and no
man knoweth where the city of Zion shall be built, but it shall be given
hereafter. Behold, I say unto you that it shall be on the borders by the
Lamanites.
10. Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and
my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the
voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
11. And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him
and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from
that stone are not of me, and that Satan deceiveth him.
12. For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him,
neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to
the church covenants.
13. For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in
the church, by the prayer of faith.
14. And thou shalt assist to settle all these things, according to
the covenants of the church before thou shalt take thy journey among the
Lamanites.
15. And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the
time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.
16. And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel
with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.
Revelation, given in the presence of Six Elders, in Fayette,
New York, September, 1830.
1. Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I AM
whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins;
2. Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble
themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer.
3. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your
sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to
sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.
4. Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to
declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a
trump.
5. Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am
your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the
kingdom.
6. And, as it is written--Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being
united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.
7. And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect;
for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;
8. Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they
shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare
their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when
tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.
9. For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is
ripe and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble and I
will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be
upon the earth;
10. For the hour is nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles
must be fulfilled; for as they spoke, so shall it come to pass;
11. For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory,
with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a
thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.
12. And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth
in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the
Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my
right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with
robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I
am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and
kept my commandments and none else.
13. For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount
Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth--yea, even
the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be
clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.
14. But, behold, I say unto you "that before this great day shall
come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in
heaven above, and in the earth beneath;
15. And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men;
16. And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the
crops of the earth.
17. And it shall come to pass because of the wickedness of the world,
that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for
the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not clean
them if they hear me not.
18. Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of
the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat
their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;
19. And their tongues shall be staid that they shall not utter
against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their
eyes from their sockets;
20. And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the
fowls of the air shall devour them up.
21. And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all
the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken
by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have
not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not
reign.
22. And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand
years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare
the earth but for a little season;
23. And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be
consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth,
24. For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become
new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men
and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;
25. And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the
workmanship of mine hand.
26. But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass
away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all
the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come
forth--yea, even all.
27. And the righteous shall be gathered on my right hand unto eternal
life; and the wicked on my left hand will I be ashamed to own before the
Father;
28. Wherefore I will say unto them--Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
29. And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I
declared from mine own mouth that they should return, for where I am they
cannot come, for they have no power.
30. But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men and as
the words have gone forth out of my mouth, even so shall they be
fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first
in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is
the power of my spirit.
31. For by the power of my spirit created I them; yea, all things
both spiritual and temporal--
32. Firstly spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of
my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the
last of my work--
33. Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto
myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you
that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed.
34. Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are
spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was
temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your
father, whom I created.
35. Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself;
and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto
him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal,
neither carnal nor sensual.
36. And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil--for,
behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying,
Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts
of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;
37. And they were thrust down, and then came the devil and his
angels;
38. And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the
beginning, which place is hell.
39. And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of
men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should
have bitter they could not know the sweet--
40. Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he
partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein
he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto
temptation.
41. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out
from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression,
wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that
same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be
pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed.
42. But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God gave unto
Adam and unto his seed that they should not die as to the temporal
death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto
them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only
Begotten Son.
43. And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his
probation--that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality
unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;
44. And they that believe not unto eternal damnation, for they cannot
be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not;
45. For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are
evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.
46. But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed
from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47. Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to
tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;
48. For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own
pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.
49. And, again, I say unto you, that whoso having knowledge, have I
not commanded to repent?
50. And he that hath no understanding, it remaineth in me to do
according as it is written. And now I declare no more unto you at this
time. Amen.
At length our conference assembled, The subject of the stone
previously mentioned was discussed, and after considerable investigation,
Brother Page, as well as the whole Church who were present, renounced the
said stone, and all things connected therewith, much to our mutual
satisfaction and happiness. We now partook of the Sacrament, confirmed
and ordained many, and attended to a great variety of Church business on
the first and the two following days of the conference, during which time
we had much of the power of God manifested amongst us; the Holy Ghost came
upon us, and filled us with joy unspeakable; and peace, and faith, and
hope, and charity abounded in our midst.
Before we separated we received the following:
Revelation to David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jun., and John Whitmer,
given September, 1830.
1. Behold, I say unto you, David, that you have feared man and have
not relied on me for strength as you ought.
2. But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the
things of me, your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called;
and you have not given heed unto my Spirit, and to those who were set over
you, but have been persuaded by those whom I have not commanded.
3. Wherefore, you are left to inquire for yourself at my hand, and
ponder upon the things which you have received.
4. And your home shall be at your father's house until I give unto
you further commandments. And you shall attend to the ministry in the
church, and before the world, and in the regions round about. Amen.
5. Behold, I say unto you, Peter, that you shall take your journey
with your brother Oliver; for the time has come that it is expedient in me
that you shall open your mouth to declare my gospel; therefore, fear not,
but give heed unto the words and advice of your brother, which he shall
give you.
6. And be you afflicted in all his afflictions, ever lifting up your
heart unto me in prayer and faith, for his and your deliverance; for I
have given unto him power to build up my church among the Lamanites;
7. And none have I appointed to be his counselor over him in the
church concerning church matters, except it is his brother, Joseph Smith,
Jun.
8. Wherefore, give heed unto these things and be diligent in keeping
my commandments, and you shall be blessed unto eternal life. Amen.
9. Behold, I say unto you, my servant John, that thou shalt commence
from this time forth to proclaim my gospel, as with the voice of a trump.
10. And your labor shall be at your brother Philip Burroughs', and in
that region round about, yea, wherever you can be heard, until I command
you to go from hence.
11. And your whole labor shall be in Zion, with all your soul, from
henceforth; yea, you shall ever open your mouth in my cause, not fearing
what man can do, for I am with you. Amen.
Revelation to Thomas B. Marsh, Given September, 1830.
1. Thomas, my son, blessed are you because of your faith in my work.
2. Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family;
nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and
the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with
you in my church.
3. Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is
come, and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings
of great joy unto this generation.
4. You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my
servant Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach from this time
forth, yea, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned.
5. Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins
are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back for
the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.
6. Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little
time, and declare my word and I will prepare a place for them.
7. Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive
you. And I will establish a church by your hand;
8. And you shall strengthen them and prepare them against the time
when they shall be gathered.
9. Be patient in afflictions, revile not against those that revile.
Govern your house in meekness, and be steadfast.
10. Behold, I say unto you that you shall be a physician unto the
church, but not unto the world, for they will not receive you.
11. Go your way withersoever I will, and it shall be given you by the
Comforter what you shall do and whither you shall go.
12. Pray always, lest you enter into temptation and lose your reward.
13. Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are
not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the
will of the Father. Amen.
During this conference, which continued three days, the utmost
harmony prevailed, and all things were settled satisfactorily to all
present a desire was manifested by all the Saints to go forward and labor
with all their powers to spread the great and glorious principles of
truth, which had been revealed by our Heavenly Father. A number were
baptized during the conference, and the word of the Lord spread and
prevailed,
At this time a great desire was manifested by several of the Elders
respecting the remnants of the house of Joseph, the Lamanites, residing in
the west--knowing that the purposes of God were great respecting that
people, and hoping that the time had come when the promises of the
Almighty in regard to them were about to be accomplished, and that they
would receive the Gospel, and enjoy its blessings. The desire being so
great, it was agreed that we should inquire of the Lord respecting the
propriety of sending some of the Elders among them, which we accordingly
did, and received the following:
Revelation to Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson, given October, 1830.+
1. And now concerning my servant Parley P. Pratt I behold, I say unto him
that as I live I will that he shall declare my gospel and learn of me, and
be meek and lowly of heart.
2. And that which I have appointed unto him is that he shall go with
my servants Older Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness
among the Lamanites.
3. And Ziba Peterson also shall go with them; and I myself will go
with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father
and nothing shall prevail against them.
4. And they shall give heed to that which is written, and pretend to
no other revelation, and they shall pray always that I may unfold the same
to their understanding.
5. And they shall give heed unto these words and trifle not, and I
will bless them. Amen.
Immediately on receiving this revelation, preparations were made for
the journey of the brethren therein designated, to the borders of and a
copy of the revelation was given them. They bade adieu to their brethren
and friends, and commenced their journey, preaching by the way, and
leaving a sealing testimony behind them, lifting up their voice like a
trump in the different villages through which they passed, They continued
their journey until they came to Kirtland, Ohio, where they tarried some
time, there being quite a number in that place and vicinity who believed
their testimony, and came forward and obeyed the Gospel. Among the number
was Mr. Sidney Rigdon, and a large portion of the church over which he
presided,
Previous to this, Elder Parley P. Pratt had been a preacher in the
same church with Mr. Rigdon, and resided in the town of Amherst, Loraine
county, in Ohio, and had been sent into the state of New York on a
mission, where he became acquainted with the circumstances of the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon, and was introduced to Joseph Smith, Jun., and
other members of the Church. The belief that there were many in the
church with which he had formerly been united, who were honest seekers
after truth, induced Elder Pratt, while on his journey to the west, to
call upon his friends, and make known the great things which the Lord had
brought to pass.
The first house at which they called in the vicinity of Kirtland, was
Mr. Rigdon's, and after the usual salutations, they presented him with the
Book of Mormon, stating that it was a revelation from God. This being the
first time he had ever heard of, or seen, the Book of Mormon, he felt
very much surprised at the assertion, and replied that he had the Bible
which he believed was a revelation from God, and with which he pretended
to have some acquaintance; but with respect of the book they had presented
him, he must say that he had considerable doubt. Upon this, they
expressed a desire to investigate the subject, and argue the matter. But
he replied, "No, young gentleman, you must not argue with me on the
subject; but I will read your book, and see what claims it has upon my
faith, and will endeavor to ascertain whether it be a revelation from God
or not."
After some further conversation they expressed a desire to lay the
subject before the people, and requested the privilege of preaching in Mr.
Rigdon's chapel, to which he readily consented. The appointment was
accordingly published, and a large and respectable congregation assembled.
Oliver Cowdery and Parley P. Pratt severally addressed the meeting. At
the conclusion, Mr. Rigdon arose, and stated to the congregation that the
information they had that evening received was of an extraordinary
character, and certainly demanded their most serious consideration; and as
the Apostle advised his brethren to "prove all things, and hold fast that
which is good," so he would exhort his brethren to do likewise, and give
the matter a careful investigation, and not turn against it without being
fully convinced of its being an imposition, lest they should, possibly,
resist the truth.
A few miles from Mr. Rigdon's home in Mentor, at the town of
Kirtland, lived a number of the members of his church. They lived
together and had all things common--from which circumstance has risen the
idea that this was the case with the Church of Jesus Christ. To that
place the Elders immediately repaired, and proclaimed the Gospel unto
them, with considerable success; for their testimony was received by many
of the people, and seventeen came forward in obedience to the Gospel.
While thus engaged, they visited Mr. Rigdon occasionally, and found
him very earnestly reading the Book of Mormon,--praying to the Lord for
direction, and meditating on the things he heard and read; and after a
fortnight from the time the book was put into his hands, he was fully
convinced of the truth of the work, by a revelation from Jesus Christ,
which was made known to him in a remarkable manner, so that he could
exclaim "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto me, but my father which
is in heaven." Accordingly he and his wife were both baptized into the
Church of Jesus Christ; and, together with those who had been previously
admitted to baptism, made a little branch of the Church, in this section
of Ohio, of about twenty members.
This much accomplished, the brethren bound for the borders of the
Lamanites, bade an affectionate farewell to the Saints in Kirtland and
vicinity; and, after adding one of their new converts to their number--Dr.
Frederick G. Williams--they went on their way rejoicing.
CHAPTER XII.
LOST BOOKS OF ANCIENT SCRIPTURE--COMMANDMENT TO THE CHURCH
IN NEW YORK TO MOVE TO OHIO.
THE LORD, who is ever ready to instruct such as diligently seek in
faith, gave the following revelation at Fayette, New York:
Revelation to Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet, given October, 1830.
1. Behold, I say unto you, my servants Ezra and Northrop, open ye
your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is
quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing
asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.
2. For verily, verily, I say unto you that ye are called to lift up
your voices as with the sound of a trump, to declare my gospel unto a
crooked and perverse generation.
3. For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the
eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my
vineyard.
4. And my vineyard has become corrupted every whit; and there is none
which doeth good save it be a few; and they err in many instances because
of priestcrafts, all having corrupt minds.
5. And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this Church have I
established and called forth out of the wilderness.
6. And even so will I gather mine elect from the four quarters of the
earth, even as many as will believe in me, and hearken unto my voice.
7. Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the field is white
already to harvest; wherefore, thrust in your sickles, and reap with all
your might, mind, and strength.
8. Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become
even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness.
9. Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with
sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you.
10. Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent,
repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
11. Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of
your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of
fire and of the Holy Ghost.
12. Behold verily, verily I say unto you, this is my gospel, and
remember that they shall have faith in me, or they can in no wise be
saved;
13. And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye
are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against
you.
14. And ye shall remember the church articles and covenants to keep
them.
15. And whoso having faith you shall confirm in my church, by the
laying on of the hands, and I will bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon
them.
16. And the Book of Mormon and the Holy Scriptures are given of me
for your instruction; and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things.
17. Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed
and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the
Bridegroom--
18. For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly.
Even so. Amen.
In the fore part of November, Orson Pratt, a young man nineteen
years of age, who had been baptized at the first preaching of his brother,
Parley P, Pratt, September 19th (his birthday), about six weeks previous,
in Canaan, New York, came to inquire of the Lord what his duty was, and
received the following answer:
A Revelation to Orson Pratt, given November, 1830.
1. My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God,
shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer;
2. The light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in
darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not;
3. Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as
would believe might become the sons of God. Wherefore you are my son;
4. And blessed are you because you have believed;
5. And more blessed are you because you are called of me to preach my
gospel--
6. To lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and
loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation, preparing
the way of the Lord for his second coming.
7. For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at
hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory,
8. And it shall be a great day at the time of my coming, for all
nations shall tremble.
9. But before that great day shall come, the sun shall be darkened,
and the moon be turned into blood; and the stars shall refuse their
shining, and some shall fall, and great destruction await the wicked.
10. Wherefore, lift up your voice and spare not, for the Lord God
hath spoken; therefore prophesy, and it shall be given by the power of the
Holy Ghost.
11. And if you are faithful, behold, I am with you until I come--
12. And verily, verily, I say unto you, I come quickly. I am your
Lord and your Redeemer. Even so. Amen.
In December Sidney Rigdon came to inquire of the Lord, and with him
came Edward Partridge; the latter was a pattern of piety, and one of the
Lord's great men. Shortly after the arrival of these two brethren, thus
spake the Lord:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, given at
Fayette, New York, December, 1830.
1. Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same
today as yesterday, and forever.
2. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins
of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may
become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the
Father is one in me, that we may be one.
3. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have
looked upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers and prepared thee
for a greater work.
4. Thou art blessed, for thou shalt do great things. Behold thou wast
sent forth, even as John, to prepare the way before me, and before Elijah
which should come and thou knewest it not.
5. Thou didst baptize by water unto repentance, but they received not
the Holy Ghost;
6. But now I give unto thee a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by
water, and they shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the
hands, even as the apostles of old.
7. And it shall come to pass that there shall be a great work in the
land, even among the Gentiles, for their folly and their abominations
shall be made manifest in the eyes of all people.
8. For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show
miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.
9. And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out
devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive
their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to
walk.
10. And the time speedily cometh that great things are to be shown
forth unto the children of men;
11. But without faith shall not anything be shown forth except
desolations upon Babylon, the same which has made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication.
12. And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to
receive the fulness of my gospel which I have sent forth unto this
generation.
13. Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who
are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my
Spirit;
14. And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and
their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight
manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will
let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation
will I preserve them.
15. And the poor and the meek shall have the gospel preached unto
them, and they shall be looking forth for the time of my coming, for it is
nigh at hand--
16. And they shall learn the parable of the fig-tree, for even now
already summer is nigh,
17. And I have sent forth the fulness of my gospel by the hand of my
servant Joseph; and in weakness have I blessed him;
18. And I have given unto him the keys of the mystery of those things
which have been sealed, even things which were from the foundation of the
world, and the things which shall come from this time until the time of my
coming, if he abide in me, and if not, another will I plant in his stead.
19. Wherefore, watch over him that his faith fail not, and it shall
be given by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, that knoweth all things.
20. And a commandment I give unto thee--that thou shalt write for
him, and the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own
bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect;
21. For they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be
asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified,
even as I am pure.
22. And now I say unto you, tarry with him, and he shall journey with
you; forsake him not, and surely these things shall be fulfilled.
23. And inasmuch as ye do not write, behold, it shall be given unto
him to prophesy; and thou shalt preach my gospel, and call on the holy
prophets to prove his words, as they shall be given him.
24. Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound;
and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall
tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish;
25. And Israel shall be saved in mine own due time; and by the keys
which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.
26. Lift up your hearts and be glad, your redemption draweth nigh.
27. Fear not, little flock, the kingdom is yours until I come.
Behold, I come quickly. Even so. Amen.
And the voice of the Lord to Edward Partridge was:
A Revelation to Edward Partridge, given December, 1830.
1. Thus saith the Lord God, the Mighty One of Israel: Behold, I say
unto you, my servant Edward, that you are blessed, and your sins are
forgiven you, and you are called to preach my gospel as with the voice of
a trump,
2. And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney
Rigdon, and you shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the
Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom;
3. And you shall declare it with a loud voice, saying; Hosanna,
blessed be the name of the most high God.
4. And now this calling and commandment give I unto you concerning
all men--
5. That as many as shall come before my servants Sidney Rigdon and
Joseph Smith, Jun., embracing this calling and commandment, shall be
ordained and sent forth to preach the everlasting gospel among the
nations--
6. Crying repentance, saying. Save yourselves from this untoward
generation and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments
spotted with the flesh.
7. And this commandment shall be given unto the elders of my church,
that every man which will embrace it with singleness of heart may be
ordained and sent forth, even as I have spoken.
8. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God; wherefore, gird up your loins
and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen.
It may be well to observe here, that the Lord greatly encouraged and
strengthened the faith of His little flock, which had embraced the fulness
of the everlasting
Gospel, as revealed to them in the Book of Mormon, by giving some
more extended information upon the Scriptures, a translation of which had
already commenced. Much conjecture and conversation frequently occurred
among the Saints, concerning the books mentioned, and referred to, in
various places in the Old and New Testaments, which were now nowhere to be
found. The common remark was, "They are lost books;" but it seems the
Apostolic Church had some of these writings, as Jude mentions or quotes
the Prophecy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam. To the joy of the little
flock, which in all, from Colesville to Canandaigua, New York, numbered
about seventy members, did the Lord reveal the following doings of olden
times, from the prophecy of Enoch:
Extracts from the Prophecy of Enoch.
1. And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying:
Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and
become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in
their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery
indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.
2. And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the
people, That: As I was journeying, and stood upon the place Mahujah, and
cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying--Turn ye,
and get ye upon the Mount Simeon.
3. And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as
I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon
with glory;
4. And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked
with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face; and he said
unto met Look, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many
generations.
5. And it came to pass that I beheld in the valley of Shum, and lo, a
great people which dwelt in tents, which were the people of Shum.
6. And again the Lord said unto me: Look; and I looked towards the
north and I beheld the people of Canaan, which dwelt in tents.
7. And the Lord said unto me; prophesy; and I prophesied, saying;
Behold the people of Canaan, which are numerous, shall go forth in battle
array against the people of Shum, and shall slay them that they shall
utterly be destroyed; and the people of Canaan shall divide themselves in
the land, and the land shall be barren and unfruitful, and none other
people shall dwell there but the people of Canaan;
8. For behold, the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the
barrenness thereof shall go forth forever; and there was a blackness came
upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people.
9. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Look; and I
looked, and I beheld the land of Sharon, and the land of Enoch, and the
land of Omner, and the land of Heni, and the land of Shem, and the land of
Haner, and the land of Hanannihah, and all the inhabitants thereof.
10. And the Lord said unto me; Go to this people, and say unto
them--Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die.
11. And he gave unto me a commandment that I should baptize in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and
of the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son.
12. And it came to pass that Enoch continued to call upon all the
people, save it were the people of Canaan, to repent;
13. And so great was the faith of Enoch, that he led the people of
God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word
of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even
according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their
course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all
nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great
was the power of the language which God had given him.
14. There also came up a land out of the depth of the sea, and so
great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and
stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depths of
the sea.
15. And the giants of the land, also stood afar off; and there went
forth a curse upon all people that fought against God;
16. And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among
them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in
righteousness.
17. The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory
of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and
they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did
flourish.
18. And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one
heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor
among them.
19. And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the
people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that
was called the city of Holiness, even Zion.
20. And it came to pass that Enoch talked with the Lord; and he said
unto the Lord: Surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever. But the Lord
said unto Enoch: Zion have I blessed, but the residue of the people have
I cursed.
21. And it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the
inhabitants of the earth; and he beheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time,
was taken up into heaven. And the Lord said unto Enoch; Behold mine abode
forever.
22. And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the
sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam, save it
were the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place
among them.
23. And after that Zion was taken up into heaven, Enoch beheld, and
lo, all the nations of the earth were before him; and there came
generation upon generation;
24. And Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the
Father, and of the Son of Man; and behold, the power of Satan was upon all
the face of the earth.
25. And he saw angels descending out of heaven; and he heard a loud
voice saying: Wo, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth.
26. And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it
veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and
laughed and his angels rejoiced.
27. And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing
testimony of the Father and the Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and
they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.
28. And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the
residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying:
How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain
upon the mountains?
29. And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep,
seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
30. And were it possible that man could number the particles of the
earth, yea millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to
the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and
yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou
art merciful and kind forever;
31. And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy
creations from all eternity to all eternity; and nought but peace,
justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go
before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?
32. The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the
workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in
the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his
agency;
33. And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment,
that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their
Father: but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own
blood.
34. And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them; and in
my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce
anger is kindled against them.
35. Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is
my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also.
36. Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the
creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among
all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness
as among thy brethren.
37. But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers;
Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole
heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands;
wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
38. But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the
floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for
them.
39. And That which I have chosen hath plead before my face.
Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in
the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall
be in torment;
40. Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the
workmanship of mine hands.
41. And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told
Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and
looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched
forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels
yearned; and all eternity shook.
42. And Enoch also saw Noah, and his family; that the posterity of
all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation;
43. Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord
smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the
wicked the floods came and swallowed them up.
44. And as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of soul, and wept over
his brethren, and said unto the heavens: I will refuse to be comforted;
but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look.
45. And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld
all the families of the earth and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When
shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be
shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified, and have eternal life?
46. And the Lord said: It shall be in the meridian of time, in the
days of wickedness and vengeance.
47. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man
even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted
up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through
faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me.
48. And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he
heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother
of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children.
When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which has gone
forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me that I may rest, and
righteousness for a season abide upon my face?
49. And when Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept, and cried unto the
Lord, saying: O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth? Wilt
thou not bless the children of Noah?
50. And it came to pass that Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord,
saying; I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine Only Begotten even Jesus
Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth
might never more be covered by the flood.
51. And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch,
and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he
would call upon the children of Noah;
52. And he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his
seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should
stand;
53. And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall
come; for he saith--I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven,
which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by
me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken,
for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy.
54. And it came to pass that Enoch cried unto the Lord, saying: When
the Son of Man cometh in the flesh, shall the earth rest? Pray thee, show
me these things.
55. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Look, and he looked and beheld the
Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men;
56. And he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all
the creations of God mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were
rent; and the Saints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son
of Man, with crowns of glory;
57. And as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth, and
stood on the right hand of God; and the remainder were reserved in chains
of darkness until the judgment of the great day.
58. And again Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall
the earth rest?
59. And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he
called unto the Lord, saying; Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? For
as much as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and
commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou
hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself,
but through Thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come
again on the earth.
60. And the Lord said unto Enoch; As I live, even so will I come in
the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath
which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;
61. And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that
day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the
earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great
tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I
preserve;
62. And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will
I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten;
his resurrection from the dead; yea and also the resurrection of all men;
and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a
flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto
a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up
their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there
shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
63. And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city
meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall
see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our
necks, and we will kiss each other;
64. And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall
come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space
of a thousand years the earth shall rest.
65. And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the
Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for
the space of a thousand years;
66. But before that day he saw great tribulations among the wicked;
and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled, and men's hearts failing
them, looking forth with fear for the judgments of the Almighty God, which
should come upon the wicked.
67. And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the
world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption;
and received a fulness of joy;
68. And all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three
hundred and sixty-five years.
69. And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the
midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it
up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is
fled.
Soon after the words of Enoch were given, the Lord gave
the following commandment:
A Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, given December,
1830.
1. Behold, I say unto you that it is not expedient in me that ye
should translate any more until ye shall go to the Ohio, and this because
of the enemy and for your sakes.
2. And again, I say unto you that ye shall not go until ye have
preached my gospel in those parts, and have strengthened up the church
whithersoever it is found, and more especially in Colesville; for, behold,
they pray unto me in much faith.
3. And again a commandment I give unto the church, that it is
expedient in me that they should assemble together at the Ohio, against
the time that my servant Oliver Cowdery shall return unto them.
4. Behold, here is wisdom, and let every man choose for himself until
I come. Even so. Amen.
CHAPTER XIII.
PROSPECTS OF THE CHURCH AT THE OPENING OF THE YEAR 1831--REMOVAL OF THE
PROPHET JOSEPH FROM NEW YORK TO OHIO--DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT.
THE year 1831 opened with a prospect great and glorious for the
welfare of the kingdom; for on the 2nd of January, 1831, a conference was
held in the town of Fayette, New York, at which the ordinary business of
the Church was transacted; and in addition, the following revelation was
received :
Revelation, given January 2nd, 1831.
1. Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I AM,
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the
wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the
world was made;
2. The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present
before mine eyes;
3. I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things
came by me.
4. I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own
bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I
am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have
spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them.
5. But behold, the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of
darkness until the judgment of the great day, which shall come at the end
of the earth;
6. And even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear
my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo, is their doom.
7. But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon
you. I am in your midst, and ye cannot see me;
8. But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am;
for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified
shall not abide the day.
9. Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom
is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome.
10. Verily I say unto you, ye are clean, but not all; and there is
none else with whom I am well pleased;
11. For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness
prevail upon the earth, among the children of men, in the presence of all
the hosts of heaven--
12. Which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained, and
the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather
the tares that they may be burned; and, behold, the enemy is combined.
13. And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had in secret
chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction in process of time, and
ye knew it not;
14. But now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of
your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief; for verily some of you are
guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your weakness.
15. Therefore, be ye strong from henceforth; fear not, for the
kingdom is yours.
16. And for your salvation I give unto you a commandment, for I have
heard your prayers, and the poor have complained before me, and the rich
have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.
17. And I have made the earth rich, and behold it is my footstool,
wherefore, again I will stand upon it.
18. And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even
a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there
shall be no curse when the Lord cometh;
19. And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if
you seek it with all your hearts.
20. And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the
land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children
forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in
eternity, no more to pass away.
21. But, verily I say unto you that in time ye shall have no king nor
ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you.
22. Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free
people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your
law-giver, and what can stay my hand?
23. But, verily I say unto you, teach one another according to the
office wherewith I have appointed you;
24. And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice
virtue and holiness before me.
25. And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as
himself.
26. For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of
them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one; Be thou
clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other; Be thou clothed in
rags and sit thou there, and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?
27. Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even
as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
28. And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers
seeketh your lives.
29. Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will
soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in
your own land.
30. I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore,
treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, let the wickedness of men reveal these
things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your
ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye
are prepared, ye shall not fear.
31. And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered
unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless--
32. Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye
should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there
you shall be endowed with power from on high;
33. And from thence, whosoever I will, shall go forth among all
nations, and it shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great
work laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them
whithersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand.
34. And now, I give unto the church in these parts a commandment,
that certain men among them shall be appointed, and they shall be
appointed by the voice of the church.
35. And they shall look to the poor and the needy, and administer to
their relief that they shall not suffer; and send them forth to the place
which I have commanded them;
36. And this shall be their work, to govern the affairs of the
property of this church.
37. And they have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or
rented as seemeth them good.
38. See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with
power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto
the bosom of the church.
39. And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to
give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have
the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth
are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of
old.
40. And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that
every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his
might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things
which I have commanded.
41. And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his
neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.
42. And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean
that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.
Not long after this conference of the 2nd of January closed, there
was a man came to me by the name of James Covill, who had been a Baptist
minister for about forty years, and covenanted with the Lord that he would
obey any command that the Lord would give to him through me, as His
servant, and I received the following:
Revelation to James Covill, given at Fayette, New York, January 5th,
1831.
1. Hearken and listen to the voice of him who is from all eternity to
all eternity, the Great I AM, even Jesus Christ--
2. The light and life of the world; a light which shineth in darkness
and the darkness comprehendeth it not:
3. The same which came in the meridian of time unto mine own, and
mine own received me not;
4. But to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons; and
even so will I give unto as many as will receive me, power to become my
sons.
5. And verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel
receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me.
6. And this is my gospel--repentance and baptism by water, and then
cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which
showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.
7. And now, behold, I say unto you, my servant James, I have looked
upon thy works and I know thee.
8. And verily I say unto thee, thine heart is now right before me at
this time and, behold, I have bestowed great blessings upon thy head,
9. Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected
me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.
10. But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt
hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee; Arise and be baptized, and
wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit,
and a blessing so great as you never have known.
11. And if thou do this, I have prepared thee for a greater work.
Thou shalt preach the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth in
these last days, the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my
people, which are of the house of Israel.
12. And it shall come to pass that power shall rest upon thee; thou
shalt have great faith, and I will be with thee and go before thy face.
13. Thou art called to labor in my vineyard, and to build up my
church, and to bring forth Zion, that it may rejoice upon the hills and
flourish.
14. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, thou art not called to
go into the eastern countries, but thou art called to go to the Ohio.
15. And inasmuch as my people shall assemble themselves at the Ohio,
I have kept in store a blessing such as is not known among the children of
men and it shall be poured forth upon their heads. And from thence men
shall go forth into all nations.
16. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the people in Ohio
call upon me in much faith, thinking I will stay my hand in judgment upon
the nations, but I cannot deny my word.
17. Wherefore lay to with your might and call faithful laborers into
my vineyard, that it may be pruned for the last time.
18. And inasmuch as they do repent and receive the fulness of my
gospel, and become sanctified, I will stay mine hand in judgment.
19. Wherefore, go forth, crying with a loud voice, saying; The
kingdom of heaven is at hand; crying: Hosanna! blessed be the name of the
Most High God.
20. Go forth baptizing with water, preparing the way before my face
for the time of my coming;
21. For the time is at hand; the day or the hour no man knoweth; but
it surely shall come.
22. And he that receiveth these things receiveth me; and they shall
be gathered unto me in time and in eternity.
23. And again, it shall come to pass, that on as many as ye shall
baptize with water, ye shall lay your hands, and they shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost, and shall be looking forth for the signs of my
coming, and shall know me.
24. Behold, I come quickly. Even so. Amen.
As James Covill rejected the word of the Lord, and returned to his
former principles and people, the Lord gave unto me and Sidney Rigdon the
following revelation explaining why he obeyed not the word:
Revelation given at Fayette, New York. January, 1831.
1. Behold, verily I say unto you, that the heart of my servant James
Covill was right before me, for he covenanted with me that he would obey
my word,
2. And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan
tempted him, and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused
him to reject the word.
3. Wherefore he broke my covenant, and it remaineth with me to do
with him as seemeth me good. Amen.
The latter part of January, in company with Brothers Sidney Rigdon
and Edward Partridge, I started with my wife for Kirtland Ohio where we
arrived about the first of February, and were kindly received and welcomed
into the house of Brother Newel K. Whitney. My wife and I lived in the
family of Brother Whitney several weeks, and received every kindness and
attention which could be expected, and especially from Sister Whitney.
The branch of the Church in this part of the Lord's vineyard, which
had increased to nearly one hundred members, were striving to do the will
of God, so far as they knew it, though some strange notions and false
spirits had crept in among them. With a little caution and some wisdom, I
soon assisted the brethren and sisters to overcome them. The plan of
"common stock," which had existed in what was called "the family," whose
members generally had embraced the everlasting Gospel, was readily
abandoned for the more perfect law of the Lord; and the false spirits were
easily discerned and rejected by the light of revelation.
The Lord gave unto the Church the following:
Revelation, given at Kirtland, Ohio, February 4th, 1831.
1. Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye
whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear
me; and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name with
the heaviest of all cursings.
2. Hearken, O ye elders of my church whom I have called, behold I
give unto you a commandment, that ye shall assemble yourselves together to
agree upon my word;
3. And by the prayer of your faith ye shall receive my law, that ye
may know how to govern my church and have all things right before me.
4. And I will be your ruler when I come; and behold, I come quickly,
and ye shall see that my law is kept.
5. He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple;
and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my
disciple, and shall be cast out from among you,
6. For it is not meet that the things which belong to the children of
the kingdom, shall be given to them that are not worthy, or to dogs, or
the pearls to be cast before swine.
7. And again, it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., should
have a house built, in which to live and translate.
8. And again, it is meet that my servant Sidney Rigdon should live as
seemeth him good, inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments.
9. And again, I have called my servant Edward Partridge, and I give a
commandment, that he should he appointed by the voice of the church, and
ordained a bishop unto the church, to leave his merchandise and to spend
all his time in the labors of the church,
10. To see to all things as it shall be appointed unto him in my laws
in the day that I shall give them.
11. And this because his heart is pure before me, for he is like unto
Nathaniel of old, in whom there is no guile.
12. These words are given unto you, and they are pure before me,
wherefore, beware how you hold them, for they are to be answered upon your
souls in the day of judgment. Even so. Amen.
On the 9th of February, 1831, at Kirtland, in the presence of twelve
Elders, and according to the promise heretofore made, the Lord gave the
following revelation, embracing the law of the Church:
Revelation, given February, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves
together in my name, even Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the
Savior of the world; inasmuch as ye believe on my name and keep my
commandments.
2. Again I say unto you, hearken and hear and obey the law which I
shall give unto you.
3. For verily I say, as ye have assembled yourselves together
according to the commandment wherewith I commanded you, and are agreed as
touching this one thing, and have asked the Father in my name, even so ye
shall receive.
4. Behold, verily I say unto you, I give unto you this first
commandment, that ye shall go forth in my name, every one of you,
excepting my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon.
5. And I give unto them a commandment that they shall go forth for a
little season, and it shall be given by the power of the Spirit when they
shall return.
6. And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my
gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound
of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God.
7. And ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying: Repent ye,
repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8. And from this place ye shall go forth into the regions westward;
and inasmuch as ye shall find them that will receive you ye shall build up
my church in every region--
9. Until the time shall come when it shall be revealed unto you from
on high, when the city of the New Jerusalem shall be prepared, that ye may
be gathered in one, that ye may be my people and I will by your God.
10. And again, I say unto you, that my servant Edward Partridge shall
stand in the office whereunto I have appointed him. And it shall come to
pass, that if he transgress, another shall be appointed in his stead. Even
so. Amen.
11. Again, I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to
go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be
ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that
he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the
church.
12. And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall
teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of
Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel;
13. And they shall observe the covenants and church articles to do
them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the
Spirit.
14. And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith;
and if ye receive not the Spirit, ye shall not teach,
15. And all this ye shall observe to do as I have commanded
concerning your teaching, until the fulness of my scriptures is given.
16. And as ye shall lift up your voices by the Comforter, ye shall
speak and prophesy as seemeth me good;
17. For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record
of the Father and of the Son.
18. And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill;
and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the
world to come.
19. And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall
die.
20. Thou shalt not steal; and he that stealeth and will not repent
shall be cast out.
21. Thou shalt not lie; he that lieth and will not repent, shall be
cast out.
22. Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart and shalt cleave unto
her and none else.
23. And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the
faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be
cast out.
24. Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery,
and repenteth not, shall be cast out.
25. But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his
heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive;
26. But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be
cast out.
27. Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm.
28. Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my
scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.
29. If thou lovest me, thou shalt serve me and keep all my
commandments.
30. And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy
properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them,
with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.
31. And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye
will do it unto me; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church
and his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests such as he shall
appoint or has appointed and set apart for the purpose.
32. And it shall come to pass, that after they are laid before the
bishop of my church, and after that he has received these testimonies
concerning the consecration of the properties of my church, that they
cannot be taken from the church, agreeable to my commandments every man
shall be made accountable unto me, a steward over his own property, or
that which he has received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for
himself and family.
33. And again, if there shall be properties in the hands of the
Church, or any individuals of it, more than is necessary for their support
after this first consecration, which is a residue to be consecrated unto
the bishop, it shall be kept to administer to those who have not, from
time to time, that every man who has need may be amply supplied and
receive according to his wants.
34. Therefore, the residue shall be kept in my storehouse, to
administer to the poor and the needy, as shall be appointed by the high
council of the church, and the bishop and his council;
35. And for the purpose of purchasing lands for the public benefit of
the church, and building houses of worship, and building up of the New
Jerusalem which is hereafter to be revealed--
36. That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I
shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people.
37. And it shall come to pass, that he that sinneth and repenteth not
shall be cast out of the church, and shall not receive again that which he
has consecrated unto the poor and the needy of my Church, or in other
words, unto me--
38. For inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto
me.
39. For it shall come to pass, that which I spake by the mouths of my
prophets, shall be fulfilled; for I will consecrate of the riches of those
who embrace my gospel among the Gentiles unto the poor of my people who
are of the house of Israel.
40. And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy
garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own
hands;
41. And let all things be done in cleanliness before me.
42. Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the
bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.
43. And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be
healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs
and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy.
44. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and
shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die
they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.
45. Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep
for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not
hope of a glorious resurrection.
46. And it shall come to pass that those that die in me, shall not
taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them;
47. And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is
bitter.
48. And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to
be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.
49. He who hath faith to see shall see.
50. He who hath faith to hear shall hear.
51. The lame who hath faith to leap shall leap.
52. And they who have not faith to do these things, but believe in
me, have power to become my sons; and inasmuch as they break not my laws
thou shalt bear their infirmities.
53. Thou shalt stand in the place of thy stewardship.
54. Thou shalt not take thy brother's garment; thou shalt pay for
that which thou shalt receive of thy brother.
55. And if thou obtainest more than that which would be for thy
support; thou shalt give it into my storehouse, that all things may be
done according to that which I have said.
56. Thou shalt ask, and my Scriptures shall be given as I have
appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety;
57. And it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning
them, and not teach them until ye have received them in full.
58. And I give unto you a commandment that then ye shall teach them
unto all men; for they shall be taught unto all nations, kindreds, tongues
and people.
59. Thou shalt take the things which thou hast received, which have
been given unto thee in my Scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my
church;
60. And he that doeth according to these things shall be saved, and
he that doeth them not shall be damned, if he so continue.
61. If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation,
knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and
peaceable things--that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life
eternal.
62. Thou shalt ask, and it shall be revealed unto you in mine own due
time where the New Jerusalem shall be built.
63. And behold, it shall come to pass that my servants shall be sent
forth to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south.
64. And even now, let him that goeth to the east teach them that
shall be converted to flee to the west, and this in consequence of that
which is coming on the earth, and of secret combinations.
65. Behold, thou shalt observe all these things, and great shall be
thy reward; for unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom,
but unto the world it is not given to know them.
66. Ye shall observe the laws which ye have received and be faithful.
67. And ye shall hereafter receive church covenants, such as shall be
sufficient to establish you, both here and in the New Jerusalem.
68. Therefore, he that lacketh wisdom, let him ask of me, and I will
give him liberally and upbraid him not.
69. Lift up your hearts and rejoice, for unto you the kingdom, or in
other words, the keys of the church have been given. Even so. Amen.
70. The priests and teachers shall have their stewardships, even as
the members.
71. And the elders, or high priests, who are appointed to assist the
bishop as counselors in all things, are to have their families supported
out of the property which is consecrated to the bishop, for the good of
the poor, and for other purposes, as before mentioned;
72. Or they are to receive a just remuneration for all their
services, either a stewardship or otherwise, as may be thought best or
decided by the counselors and bishop.
73. And the bishop, also, shall receive his support, or a just
renumeration for all his services in the church.
74. Behold, verily I say unto you, that whatever persons among you,
having put away their companions for the cause of fornication, or in other
words, if they shall testify before you in all lowliness of heart that
this is the case, ye shall not cast them out from among you;
75. But if ye shall find that any persons have left their companions
for the sake of adultery, and they themselves are the offenders, and their
companions are living, they shall be cast out from among you.
76. And again, I say unto you, that ye shall be watchful and careful,
with all inquiry, that ye receive none such among you if they are married;
77. And if they are not married, they shall repent of all their sins
or ye shall not receive them.
78. And again, every person who belongeth to this church of Christ,
shall observe to keep all the commandments and covenants of the church.
79. And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall
kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of
the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved
according to the laws of the land.
80. And if any man or woman shall commit adultery, he or she shall be
tried before two elders of the church, or more, and every word shall be
established against him or her by two witnesses of the church, and not of
the enemy; but if there are more than two witnesses it is better.
81. But he or she shall be condemned by the mouth of two witnesses;
and the elders shall lay the case before the church, and the church shall
lift up their hands against him or her, that they may be dealt with
according to the law of God.
82. And if it can be, it is necessary that the bishop be present
also.
83. And thus ye shall do in all cases which shall come before you.
84. And if a man or woman shall rob, he or she shall be delivered up
unto the law of the land.
85. And if he or she shall steal, he or she shall be delivered up
unto the law of the land.
86. And if he or she shall lie, he or she shall be delivered up unto
the law of the land.
87. And if he or she do any manner of iniquity, he or she shall be
delivered up unto the law, even that of God.
88. And if thy brother or sister offend thee, thou shalt take him or
her between him or her and thee alone; and if he or she confess thou shalt
be reconciled.
89. And if he or she confess not, thou shalt deliver him or her up
unto the church, not to the members, but to the elders. And it shall be
done in a meeting, and that not before the world.
90. And if thy brother or sister offend many, he or she shall be
chastened before many.
91. And if any one offend openly, he or she shall be rebuked openly,
that he or she may be ashamed. And if he or she confess not, he or she
shall be delivered up unto the law of God,
92. If any shall offend in secret, he or she shall be rebuked in
secret, that he or she may have opportunity to confess in secret to him or
her whom he or she has offended, and to God, that the church may not speak
reproachfully of him or her.
93. And thus shall ye conduct in all things.
Soon after the foregoing revelation was received, a woman came
making great pretensions of revealing commandments, laws and other curious
matters; and as almost every person has advocates for both theory and
practice, in the various notions and projects of the age, it became
necessary to inquire of the Lord, when I received the following:
Revelation given at Kirtland, February, 1831.
1. O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give ear to the words which
I shall speak unto you.
2. For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received
a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed
unto you to receive commandments and revelations from my hand.
3. And this ye shall know assuredly--that there is none other
appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be
taken, if he abide in me.
4. But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be
appointed unto this gift except it be through him; for if it be taken from
him he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead.
5. And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the
teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or
commandments;
6. And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you
may know they are not of me.
7. For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall
come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach
those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him
whom I have appointed.
8. And now, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that when ye are
assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other, that ye may
know how to act and direct my church, how to act upon the points of my law
and commandments, which I have given.
9. And thus ye shall become instructed in the law of my church, and
be sanctified by that which ye have received, and ye shall bind yourselves
to act in all holiness before me--
10. That inasmuch as ye do this, glory shall be added to the kingdom
which ye have received. Inasmuch as ye do it not, it shall be taken, even
that which ye have received.
11. Purge ye out the iniquity which is among you; sanctify yourselves
before me;
12. And if ye desire the glories of the kingdom, appoint ye my
servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and uphold him before me by the prayer of
faith.
13. And again, I say unto you, that if ye desire the mysteries of the
kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth
to accomplish the work wherewith I have commanded him;
14. And if ye do it not, he shall remain unto them that have received
him, that I may reserve unto myself a pure people before me.
15. Again I say, hearken ye elders of my church, whom I have
appointed. Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children
of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my
Spirit;
16. And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye
shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken.
17. Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at
hand.
18. For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of
heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump
of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping
nations; Ye saints, arise and live; ye sinners, stay and sleep until I
shall call again.
19. Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be found among the wicked.
20. Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to
repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying: Prepare yourselves
for the great day of the Lord;
21. For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to
repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the
thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to
the ears of all that live, saying--Repent, and prepare for the great day
of the Lord?
22. Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the
east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live,
and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying these words--Repent ye,
for the great day of the Lord is come?
23. And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying:
Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who
made you.
24. O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you
together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings but you would
not!
25. How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and
by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of
thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests,
and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of
famines and pestilences of every kind and by the great sound of a trump,
and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long,
and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and
would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!
26. Behold the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine
indignation is full.
27. Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the
Lord your God.
28. Wherefore, labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last
time--for the last time call upon the inhabitants of the earth.
29. For in mine own due time will I come upon the earth in judgment,
and my people shall be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth.
30. For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of
my servants, shall come.
31. For Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again he shall
only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth.
32. And he that liveth in righteousness shall be changed in the
twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pass away so as by fire.
33. And the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their
end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before
me in judgment.
34. Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior
of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the
solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.
35. Be sober. Keep all my commandments. Even so. Amen.
The latter part of February I received the following revelation,
which caused the Church to appoint a conference to be held early in the
month of June ensuing:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, given at
Kirtland, February, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, it is expedient
in me that the elders of my church should be called together, from the
east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, by letter
or some other way.
2. And it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as they are faithful, and
exercise faith in me, I will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that
they assemble themselves together.
3. And it shall come to pass that they shall go forth into the
regions round about, and preach repentance unto the people.
4. And many shall be converted, insomuch that ye shall obtain power
to organize yourselves according to the laws of man;
5. That your enemies may not have power over you; that you may be
preserved in all things; that you may be enabled to keep my laws; that
every bond may be broken wherewith the enemy seeketh to destroy my people.
6. Behold I say unto you, that ye must visit the poor and the needy
and administer to their relief, that they may be kept until all things may
be done according to my law which ye have received. Amen.
CHAPTER XIV.
EFFORT TO OVERWHELM THE CHURCH BY FALSEHOOD--SUNDRY REVELATIONS
LEADING TO DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT.
AT this age of the Church [i.e., early in the spring of 1831] many
false reports, lies, and foolish stories, were published in the
newspapers, and circulated in every direction, to prevent people from
investigating the work, or embracing the faith. A great earthquake in
China, which destroyed from one to two thousand inhabitants, was
burlesqued in some papers, as " `Mormonism' in China." But to the joy of
the Saints who had to struggle against every thing that prejudice and
wickedness could invent, I received the following:
Revelation at Kirtland, given March 7th, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been
given; hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the
earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all
things were made which live, and move, and have a being.
2. And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake
you, in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the
harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
3. Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading
your cause before him--
4. Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no
sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was
shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5. Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my
name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.
6. Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together,
and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts,
7. For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the light and the life of the world--a light that shineth in
darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
8. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as
many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the
sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to
obtain eternal life.
9. And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world,
to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for
the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to
prepare the way before me.
10. Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will
reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong
reasoning,
11. Wherefore, hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my
wisdom--the wisdom of him whom ye say is the God of Enoch, and his
brethren,
12. Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto
myself--a city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come--a day
which was sought for by holy men, and they found it not because of
wickedness and abominations;
13. And confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth;
14. But obtained a promise that they should find it and see it in
their flesh.
15. Wherefore, hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak
unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old.
16. And I will show it plainly, as I showed it unto my disciples as I
stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying: As ye have
asked of me concerning the signs of my coming in the day when I shall come
in my glory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfil the promises that I have
made unto your fathers,
17. For as ye have looked upon the long absence of your spirits from
your bodies to be a bondage, I will show unto you how the day of
redemption shall come, and also the restoration of the scattered Israel.
18. And now ye behold this temple which is in Jerusalem, which ye
call the house of God, and your enemies say that this house shall never
fall.
19. But, verily I say unto you, that desolation shall come upon this
generation as a thief in the night, and this people shall be destroyed and
scattered among all nations.
20. And this temple which ye now see shall be thrown down that there
shall not be left one stone upon another.
21. And it shall come to pass, that this generation of Jews shall not
pass away until every desolation which I have told you concerning them
shall come to pass.
22. Ye say that ye know that the end of the world cometh; ye say also
that ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away;
23. And in this ye say truly, for so it is; but these things which I
have told you shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled,
24. And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem, and when that day
shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations;
25. But they shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
26. And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and
the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them,
and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the
earth.
27. And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.
28. And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall
break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness
of my gospel;
29. But they receive it not, for they perceive not the light, and
they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.
30. And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.
31. And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall
not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating
sickness shall cover the land.
32. But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be
moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God
and die.
33. And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places and many
desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will
take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another.
34. And now, when I the Lord had spoken these words unto my
disciples, they were troubled.
35. And I said unto them, Be not troubled, for, when all these things
shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made
unto you shall be fulfilled.
36. And when the light shall begin to break forth, it shall be with
them like unto a parable which I will show you--
37. Ye look and behold the fig trees, and ye see them with your eyes,
and ye say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet
tender, that summer is now nigh at hand;
38. Even so it shall be in that day when they shall see all these
things, then shall they know that the hour is nigh.
39. And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be
looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of
the coming of the Son of Man.
40. And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown
forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath.
41. And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke.
42. And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from
heaven.
43. And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
44. And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and
they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great
glory, with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be
cut off,
45. But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound
his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in
the cloud.
46. Wherefore, if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you; for as you
now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your
souls shall live and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints
shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.
47. Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations.
48. And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it
shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro,
and the heavens also shall shake.
49. And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth
shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that
have laughed shall see their folly,
50. And calamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be
consumed; and they that have watched for iniquity shall be hewn down and
cast into the fire.
51. And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these
wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?
52. Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto
them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of
my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am
the Son of God.
53. And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall
they lament because they persecuted their king.
54. And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that
knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be
tolerable for them.
55. And Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the
hearts of the children of men.
56. And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable
be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
57. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have
taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived--verily
I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but
shall abide the day.
58. And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and
they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up
without sin unto salvation.
59. For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon
them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
60. And now, behold, I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you
to know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be
translated, and in it all these things shall be made known;
61. Wherefore I give unto you that ye may now translate it, that ye
may be prepared for the things to come.
62. For verily I say unto you, that great things await you;
63. Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but, behold, I say unto you,
they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear
of wars in your own lands.
64. Wherefore I, the Lord, have said, Gather ye out from the eastern
lands, assemble ye yourselves together ye elders of my church; go ye forth
into the western countries, call upon the inhabitants to repent, and
inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me.
65. And with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that
ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto
you,
66. And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city
of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;
67. And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the
Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it,
and it shall be called Zion.
68. And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that
will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for
safety.
69. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under
heaven, and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with
another.
70. And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle
against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we
cannot stand.
71. And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered
out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of
everlasting joy.
72. And now I say unto you keep these things from going abroad unto
the world until it is expedient in me, that ye may accomplish this work in
the eyes of the people, and in the eyes of your enemies, that they may not
know your works until ye have accomplished the thing which I have
commanded you,
73. That when they shall know it, that they may consider these
things.
74. For when the Lord shall appear he shall be terrible unto them,
that fear may seize upon them, and they shall stand afar off and tremble.
75. And all nations shall be afraid because of the terror of the
Lord, and the power of his might. Even so. Amen.
The next day after the above was received, I also received the
following revelation, relative to the gifts of the Holy Ghost:
Revelation given at Kirtland, March 8th, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye people of my church; for verily I say unto you, that
these things were spoken unto you for your profit and learning.
2. But notwithstanding those things which are written, it always has
been given to the elders of my church from the beginning, and ever shall
be, to conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy
Spirit.
3. Nevertheless ye are commanded never to cast any one out from your
public meetings, which are held before the world.
4. Ye are also commanded not to cast any one who belongeth to the
church out of your sacrament meetings; nevertheless, if any have
trespassed, let him not partake until he make reconciliation.
5. And again I say unto you, ye shall not cast any out of your
sacrament meetings who are earnestly seeking the kingdom--I speak this
concerning those who are not of the church.
6. And again I say unto you, concerning your confirmation meetings,
that if there be any that are not of the church, that are earnestly
seeking after the kingdom, ye shall not cast them out.
7. But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth
liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would
that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me,
considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and
thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of
devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of
devils.
8. Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be
deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what
they are given;
9. For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those
who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do;
that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not
for a sign that they may consume it upon their lust.
10. And again verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always
remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are
given unto the church,
11. For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many
gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may
be profited thereby.
13. To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.
14. To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also
might have eternal life if they continue faithful.
15. And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the
differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord,
according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the
conditions of the children of men.
16. And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the
diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations
of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.
17. And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit
of God, the word of wisdom.
18. To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught
to be wise and to have knowledge.
19. And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed,
20. And to others it is given to have faith to heal.
21. And again, to some is given the working of miracles;
22. And to others it is given to prophesy;
23. And to others the discerning of spirits.
24. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues;
25. And to another is given the interpretation of tongues.
26. And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the
children of God.
27. And unto the bishop of the church, and unto such as God shall
appoint and ordain to watch over the church, and to be elders unto the
church, are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest
there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God.
28. And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall
receive in Spirit;
29. That unto some it may be given to have all those gifts, that
there may be a head, in order that every member may be profited thereby.
30. He that asketh in the Spirit, asketh according to the will of
God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.
31. And again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of
Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit;
32. And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever
blessings ye are blessed with.
33. And ye must practice virtue and holiness before me continually.
Even so. Amen.
The same day that I received the foregoing revelation, I also
received the following, setting apart John Whitmer as a historian,
inasmuch as he is faithful:
Revelation to Joseph Smith, Jun., and John Whitmer, given at
Kirtland, March 8th, 1831.
1. Behold, it is expedient in me that my servant John should write
and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in
transcribing all things which shall be given you, until he is called to
further duties.
2. Again, verily I say unto you that he can also lift up his voice in
meetings, whenever it shall be expedient.
3. And again, I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to
keep the church record and history continually, for Oliver Cowdery I have
appointed to another office.
4. Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by
the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen.
Upon inquiry how the brethren should act in regard to purchasing
lands to settle upon,+ and where they should finally make a permanent
location I received the following:
Revelation, given at Kirtland, March, 1831.++
1. It is necessary that ye should remain for the present time in your
places of abode, as it shall be suitable to your circumstances.
2. And inasmuch as ye have land, ye shall impart to the eastern
brethren;
3. And inasmuch as ye have not land, let them buy for the present
time in those regions round about, as seemeth them good, for it must needs
be necessary that they have places to live for the present time.
4. It must needs be necessary, that ye save all the money that ye
can, and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness, that in time ye
may be enabled to purchase land for an inheritance, even the city.
5. The place is not yet to be revealed; but after your brethren come
from the east there are to be certain men appointed, and to them it shall
be given to know the place, or to them it shall be revealed.
6. And they shall be appointed to purchase the lands, and to make a
commencement to lay the foundation of the city; and then shall ye begin to
be gathered with your families, every man according to his family,
according to his circumstances, and as is appointed to him by the
presidency and the bishop of the church, according to the laws and
commandments which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive.
Even so. Amen.
At about this time came Leman Copley, one of the sect called Shaking
Quakers, and embraced the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, apparently
honest-hearted, but still retaining the idea that the Shakers were right
in some particulars of their faith. In order to have more perfect
understanding on the subject, I inquired of the Lord, and received the
following:
Revelation to Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, and Leman Copley,
given March, 1831.
1. Hearken unto my word, my servants Sidney, and Parley, and
Leman; for behold, verily I say unto you, that I give unto you a
commandment that you shall go and preach my gospel which ye have received,
even as ye have received it, unto the Shakers.
2. Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in
part, but not all, for they are not right before me and must needs repent.
3. Wherefore, I send you, my servants Sidney and Parley to preach the
gospel unto them;
4. And my servant Leman shall be ordained unto this work, that he may
reason with them, not according to that which he has received of them, but
according to that which shall be taught him by you my servants; and by so
doing I will bless him, otherwise he shall not prosper.
5. Thus saith the Lord; for I am God, and have sent mine Only
Begotten Son into the world for the redemption of the world, and have
decreed that he that receiveth him shall be saved, and he that receiveth
him not shall be damned--
6. And they have done unto the Son of Man even as they listed; and he
has taken his power on the right hand of his glory and now reigneth in the
heavens, and will reign till he descends on the earth to put all enemies
under his feet, which time is nigh at hand--
7. I, the Lord God have spoken it, but the hour and the day no man
knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.
8. Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under
sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know
not of.
9. Wherefore, I say unto you, that I have sent unto you mine
everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.
10. And that which I have promised I have so fulfilled, and the
nations of the earth shall bow to it; and, if not of themselves, they
shall come down, for that which is now exalted of itself shall be laid low
of power.
11. Wherefore, I give unto you a commandment that ye go among this
people, and say unto them, like unto mine apostle of old, whose name was
Peter:
12. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus, who was on the earth, and
is to come, the beginning and the end;
13. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, according to
the holy commandment, for the remission of sins;
14. And whoso doeth this shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by
the laying on of the hands of the elders of the church.
15. And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso forbiddeth to marry
is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man.
16. Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they
twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end
of its creation;
17. And that is might be filled with the measure of man, according to
his creation before the world was made.
18. And whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not
eat the same, is not ordained of God;
19. For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air,
and that which cometh of the earth is ordained for the use of man for food
and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance.
20. But it is not given that one man should possess that which is
above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.
21. And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and
hath no need.
22. And again, verily I say unto you, that the Son of Man cometh not
in the form of a woman neither of a man traveling on the earth.
23. Wherefore, be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness,
looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and
to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the valleys to be exalted,
and for the mountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become
smooth--and all this when the angel shall sound his trumpet,
24. But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall
flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
25. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the
mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have
appointed.
26. Behold, I say unto you, go forth as I have commanded you; repent
of all your sins; ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened
unto you.
27. Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be
in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.
28. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come quickly. Even so. Amen.
During the month of April, I continued to translate the Scriptures as
time would allow. In May, a number of Elders being present, and not
understanding the different spirits abroad in the earth, I inquired and
received from the Lord the following:
Revelation, given May, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye elders of my church, and give ear to the voice of
the living God; and attend to the words of wisdom which shall be given
unto you, according as ye have asked and are agreed as touching the
church, and the spirits which have gone abroad in the earth.
2. Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which
are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the
world.
3. And also Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow
you.
4. Behold, I the Lord, have looked upon you, and have seen
abominations in the church that profess my name.
5. But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life
or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life.
6. But wo unto them that are deceivers and hypocrites, for, thus
saith the Lord, I will bring them to judgment.
7. Behold, verily I say unto you, there are hypocrites among you, who
have deceived some, which has given the adversary power; but behold such
shall be reclaimed;
8. But the hypocrites shall be detected and shall be cut off, either
in life or in death, even as I will; and wo unto them who are cut off from
my Church, for the same are overcome of the world.
9. Wherefore, let every man beware lest he do that which is not in
truth and righteousness before me.
10. And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of
his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand;
11. Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to
face.
12. Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he
reasoneth as a man; even so will I the Lord, reason with you, that you may
understand.
13. Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question--Unto what were ye
ordained?
14. To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was
sent forth to teach the truth.
15. And then received ye spirits which ye could not understand, and
received them to be of God; and in this are ye justified:
16. Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves; nevertheless, I
will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be
made strong.
17. Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth
to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth
he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?
18. And if it be by some other way it is not of God.
19. And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive
it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?
20. If it be some other way it is not of God.
21. Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know that he
that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth, receiveth it as it is
preached by the Spirit of truth?
22. Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand
one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.
23. And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.
24. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and
continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter
and brighter until the perfect day.
25. And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know
the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you;
26. He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed
to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of
all.
27. Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are
subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light,
the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father, through
Jesus Christ, his Son.
28. But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and
cleansed from all sin.
29. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask
whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done.
30. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask; and as
ye are appointed to the head, the spirits shall be subject unto you.
31. Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that if you behold a spirit
manifested that you cannot understand, and you receive not that spirit ye
shall ask of the Father in the name of Jesus; and if he give not unto you
that spirit, then you may know that it is not of God.
32. And it shall be given unto you power over that spirit; and you
shall proclaim against that spirit with a loud voice that it is not of
God--
33. Not with railing accusation, that ye be not overcome, neither
with boasting nor rejoicing, lest you be seized therewith,
34. He that receiveth of God, let him account it of God; and let him
rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy to receive.
35. And by giving heed and doing these things which ye have received,
and which ye shall hereafter receive--and the kingdom is given you of the
Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of him--
36. And behold, verily I say unto you, blessed are you who are now
hearing these words of mine from the mouth of my servant, for your sins
are forgiven you.
37. Let my servant Joseph Wakefield, in whom I am well pleased, and
my servant Parley P. Pratt go forth among the churches and strengthen them
by the word of exhortation;
38. And also my servant John Corrill, or as many of my servants as
are ordained unto this office, and let them labor in the vineyard; and let
no man hinder them doing that which I have appointed unto them--
39. Wherefore in this thing my servant Edward Partridge is not
justified; nevertheless let him repent and he shall be forgiven.
40. Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now;
we must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.
41. Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome
the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me;
42. And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.
43. And the Father and I are one. I am in the Father and the Father
in me; and inasmuch as ye have received me, ye are in me and I in you.
44. Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and
the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.
45. And the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and
know that I am.
46. Watch, therefore, that ye may be ready. Even so. Amen.
Not long after the foregoing was received, the Saints from the State
of New York began to come on, and it seemed necessary to settle them;
therefore at the solicitation of Bishop Partridge, I inquired, and
received the following:
Revelation, given May 1831.
1. Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God, and I will speak unto my
servant Edward Partridge, and give unto him directions; for it must needs
be that he receive directions how to organize this people.
2. For it must needs be that they be organized according to my laws;
otherwise, they will be cut off.
3. Wherefore, let my servant Edward Partridge, and those whom he has
chosen, in whom I am well pleased, appoint unto this people their
portions, every man equal according to his family, according to his
circumstances and his wants and needs.
4. And let my servant Edward Partridge, when he shall appoint a man
his portion, give unto him a writing that shall secure unto him his
portion, that he shall hold it, even this right and this inheritance in
the church, until he transgresses and is not accounted worthy by the voice
of the church according to the laws and covenants of the church, to belong
to the church.
5. And if he shall transgress and is not accounted worthy to belong
to the church, he shall not have power to claim that portion which he has
consecrated unto the bishop for the poor and needy of my church;
therefore, he shall not retain the gift, but shall only have claim on that
portion that is deeded unto him.
6. And thus all things shall be made sure, according to the laws of
the land.
7. And let that which belongs to this people be appointed unto this
people.
8. And the money which is left unto this people--let there be an
agent appointed unto this people, to take the money to provide food and
raiment, according to the wants of this people.
9. And let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people,
and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as I have commanded you.
10. And let that which belongeth to this people not be taken and
given unto that of another church.
11. Wherefore, if another church would receive money of this church,
let them pay unto this church again according as they shall agree;
12. And this shall be done through the bishop or the agent, which
shall be appointed by the voice of the church.
13. And again, let the bishop appoint a storehouse unto this church;
and let all things both in money and in meat, which are more than is
needful for the wants of this people, be kept in the hands of the bishop.
14. And let him also reserve unto himself for his own wants, and for
the wants of his family, as he shall be employed in doing this business.
15. And thus grant unto this people a privilege of organizing
themselves according to my laws.
16. And I consecrate unto them this land for a little season, until
I, the Lord, shall provide for them otherwise, and command them to go
hence;
17. And the hour and the day is not given unto them, wherefore let
them act upon this land as for years, and this shall turn unto them for
their good.
18. Behold, this shall be an example unto my servant Edward
Partridge, in other places, in all churches.
19. And whoso is found a faithful, a just, and a wise steward shall
enter into the joy of his Lord, and shall inherit eternal life.
20. Verily, I say unto you, I am Jesus Christ, who cometh quickly, in
an hour you think not. Even so. Amen.
CHAPTER XV.
THE IMPORTANT CONFERENCE OF JUNE 3RD-6TH--ARRIVAL OF THE ELDERS IN
WESTERN MISSOURI.
ON the 3rd of June, the Elders from the various parts of the country
where they were laboring; Important came in; and the conference before
appointed, convened in Kirtland; and the Lord displayed His power to the
most perfect satisfaction of the Saints. The man of sin was revealed, and
the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood was manifested and conferred
for the first time upon several of the Elders. It was clearly evident
that the Lord gave us power in proportion to the work to be done, and
strength according to the race set before us, and grace and help as our
needs required. Great harmony prevailed; several were ordained; faith was
strengthened;
and humility, so necessary for the blessing of God to follow prayer,
characterized the Saints.
The next day, as a kind continuation of this great work of the last
days, I received the following:
Revelation, given June, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto the elders whom he hath called
and chosen in these last days, by the voice of his Spirit--
2. Saying: I, the Lord, will make known unto you what I will that ye
shall do from this time until the next conference, which shall be held in
Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are
a remnant of Jacob, and those who are heirs according to the covenant.
3. Wherefore, verily I say unto you, let my servants Joseph Smith,
Jun., and Sidney Rigdon take their journey as soon as preparations can be
made to leave their homes, and journey to the land of Missouri.
4. And inasmuch as they are faithful unto me, it shall be made known
unto them what they shall do;
5. And it shall also, inasmuch as they are faithful, be made known
unto them the land of your inheritance.
6. And inasmuch as they are not faithful, they shall be cut off, even
as I will, as seemeth me good.
7. And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Lyman Wight and
my servant John Corrill take their journey speedily;
8. And also my servant John Murdock, and my servant Hyrum Smith, take
their journey unto the same place by the way of Detroit.
9. And let them journey from thence preaching the word by the way,
saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have
written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer
of faith.
10. Let them go two by two and thus let them preach by the way in
every congregation, baptizing by water, and the laying on of the hands by
the water's side.
11. For thus saith the Lord, I will cut my work short in
righteousness, for the days come that I will send forth judgment unto
victory.
12. And let my servant Lyman Wight beware, for Satan desireth to sift
him as chaff.
13. And behold, he that is faithful shall be made ruler over many
things.
14. And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye
may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth
deceiving the nations--
15. Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is
accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances.
16. He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is
meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances.
17. And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong,
and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the
revelations and truths which I have given you.
18. And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits,
even according to this pattern, is not of me.
19. Wherefore, by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases
under the whole heavens.
20. And the days have come; according to men's faith it shall be done
unto them.
21. Behold, this commandment is given unto all the elders whom I have
chosen.
22. And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Thomas B. Marsh
and my servant Ezra Thayre, take their journey also, preaching the word by
the way unto this same land.
23. And again, let my servant Isaac Morley, and my servant Ezra Booth
take their journey, also preaching the word by the way unto this same
land.
24. And again, let my servants Edward Partridge and Martin Harris
take their journey with my servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jun.
25. Let my servants David Whitmer and Harvey Whitlock also take their
journey, and preach by the way unto this same land.
26. And let my servants Parley P. Pratt and Orson Pratt take their
journey, and preach by the way, even unto this same land.
27. And let my servants Solomon Hancock and Simeon Carter also take
their journey unto this same land, and preach by the way.
28. Let my servants Edson Fuller and Jacob Scott also take their
journey.
29. Let my servants Levi W. Hancock and Zebedee Coltrin also take
their journey.
30. Let my servants Reynolds Cahoon and Samuel H. Smith also take
their journey.
31. Let my servants Wheeler Baldwin and William Carter also take
their journey.
32. And let my servants Newel Knight and Selah J. Griffin, both be
ordained, and also take their journey.
33. Yea, verily I say, let all these take their journey unto one
place, in their several courses, and one man shall not build upon
another's foundation, neither journey in another's track.
34. He that is faithful, the same shall be kept and blessed with much
fruit.
35. And again, I say unto you, let my servants Joseph Wakefield and
Solomon Humphrey take their journey into the eastern lands;
36. Let them labor with their families, declaring none other things
than the prophets and apostles, that which they have seen and heard and
most assuredly believe, that the prophecies may be fulfilled.
37. In consequence of transgression, let that which was bestowed upon
Heman Bassett be taken from him, and placed upon the head of Simonds
Ryder.
38. And again, verily I say unto you, let Jared Carter be ordained a
priest, and also George James be ordained a priest.
39. Let the residue of the elders watch over the churches, and
declare the word in the regions round about them; and let them labor with
their own hands that there be no idolatry nor wickedness practiced.
40. And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and
the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my
disciple.
41. And again, let my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon,
and Edward Partridge take with them a recommend from the church. And let
there be one obtained for my servant Oliver Cowdery also.
42. And thus, even as I have said, if ye are faithful ye shall
assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which
is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies.
43. But, behold, I, the Lord, will hasten the city in its time, and
will crown the faithful with joy and with rejoicing.
44. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I will lift them
up at the last day. Even so. Amen.
Shortly after the foregoing was received, at the request of Algernon
Sidney Gilbert I inquired, and obtained the following:
Revelation, given June, 1831.
1. Behold, I say unto you, my servant Sidney Gilbert, that I have
heard your prayers, and you have called upon me that it should be made
known unto you, of the Lord your God, concerning your calling and election
in the church, which I, the Lord, have raised up in these last days.
2. Behold, I, the Lord, who was crucified for the sins of the world,
give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world.
3. Take upon you mine ordination, even that of an elder, to preach
faith and repentance and remission of sins, according to my word, and the
reception of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands;
4. And also to be an agent unto this church in the place which shall
be appointed by the bishop, according to commandments which shall be given
hereafter.
5. And again, verily I say unto you, you shall take your journey with
my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon.
6. Behold these are the first ordinances which you shall receive; and
the residue shall be made known in a time to come, according to your labor
in my vineyard.
7. And again, I would that ye should learn that he only is saved who
endureth unto the end. Even so. Amen.
The branch of the Church in Thompson, on account of breaking the
covenant, and not knowing what to do, they sent in Newel Knight and other
Elders, to ask me to inquire of the Lord for them; which I did, and
received the following:
Revelation to Newel Knight, given at Kirtland June, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, even he who was crucified for the sins of the world--
2. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, my servant Newel Knight,
you shall stand fast in the office wherewith I have appointed you.
3. And if your brethren desire to escape their enemies, let them
repent of all their sins, and become truly humble before me and contrite.
4. And as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even
so it has become void and of none effect.
5. And wo to him by whom this offense cometh, for it had been better
for him that he had been drowned in the depth of the sea.
6. But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the
commandment, for they shall obtain mercy.
7. Wherefore, go to now and flee the land, lest your enemies come
upon you; and take your journey, and appoint whom you will to be your
leader, and to pay monies for you.
8. And thus you shall take your journey into the regions westward,
unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites.
9. And after you have done journeying, behold, I say unto you, seek
ye a living like unto men, until I prepare a place for you.
10. And again be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I
came quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early
shall find rest to their souls. Even so. Amen.
The Elders now began to go to the western country, two and two,
according to the word of the Lord.
From Parley P. Pratt, who during the spring had returned from his
mission of last fall, we had verbal information; and from letters from the
still remaining Elders we had written intelligence; and as the mission to
Western Missouri and the gathering of the Saints to that place was the
most important subject which then engrossed the attention of the Church, I
will here insert the copy of a letter, received about this time from that
section, dated at Kaw Township, Missouri, May 7, 1831 :
Our Dearly Beloved Brethren;--I have nothing particular to write as
concerning the Lamanites; because of a short journey which I have just
returned from, and in consequence of which I have not written to you since
the 16th of last month. Brother Ziba Peterson and myself went into the
county east, which is Lafayette, about forty miles; and, in the name of
Jesus, we called on the people to repent, many of whom are, I believe,
earnestly searching for truth, and if sincerely, I pray they may find that
precious treasure, for it seems to be wholly fallen in the streets, and
equity cannot enter.
The letter we received from you informed us that the opposition was
great against you. Now, our beloved brethren, we verily believe that we
also can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name;
for almost the whole country, consisting of Universalists, Atheists,
Deists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and other professed
Christians, priests and people; with all the devils from the infernal pit
are united, and foaming out their own shame [against us]. God forbid that
I should bring a railing accusation against them, for vengeance belongeth
to Him who is able to repay; and herein, brethren, we confide.
I am lately informed of another tribe of Lamanites, who have
abundance of flocks of the best kinds of sheep and cattle; and they
manufacture blankets of a superior quality. The tribe is very numerous;
they live three hundred miles west of Santa Fe, and are called Navahoes.
Why I mention this tribe is because I feel under obligations to
communicate to my brethren any information concerning the Lamanites that I
meet with in my labors and travel; believing, as I do, that much is
expected from me in the cause of our Lord; and doubting not that I am
daily remembered before the throne of the Most High by all my brethren, as
well by those who have not seen my face in the flesh as by those who have.
We begin to expect our brother Parley P. Pratt soon; we have heard
from him only when he was at St. Louis. We are all well, bless the Lord;
and preach the Gospel we will, if earth and hell oppose our way--for we
dwell in the midst of scorpions--and in Jesus we trust. Grace be with you
all. Amen. OLIVER COWDERY.
P. S.--I beseech Brother Whitney to remember and write, and direct to
me, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.
About the middle of June, while we were preparing for our journey to
Missouri, William W. Phelps and his family arrived among us--"to do the
will of the Lord," he said: so I inquired of the Lord concerning him and
received the following:
Revelation given June, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant William, yea,
even the Lord of the whole earth, thou art called and chosen; and after
thou hast been baptized by water, which if you do with an eye single to my
glory, you shall have a remission of your sins and a reception of the Holy
Spirit by the laying on of hands;
2. And then thou shalt be ordained by the hand of my servant Joseph
Smith, Jun., to be an elder unto this church, to preach repentance and
remission of sins by way of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of
the living God.
3. And on whomsoever you shall lay your hands, if they are contrite
before me, you shall have power to give the Holy Spirit.
4. And again, you shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver
Cowdery to do the work of printing, and of selecting and writing books for
schools in this Church, that little children also may receive instruction
before me as is pleasing unto me.
5. And again, verily I say unto you, for this cause ye shall take
your journey with my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, that
you may be planted in the land of your inheritance to do this work.
6. And again, let my servant Joseph Coe also take his journey with
them. The residue shall be made known hereafter, even as I will. Amen.
Soon after I received the foregoing, Elder Thomas B. Marsh came to
inquire what he should do; as Elder Ezra Thayre, his yoke-fellow in the
ministry, could not get ready to start on his mission as soon as he
(Marsh) would; and I inquired of the Lord, and received the following:
Revelation, given at Kirtland, June, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God;
for behold, mine anger is kindled against the rebellious, and they shall
know mine arm and mine indignation, in the day of visitation and of wrath
upon the nations.
2. And he that will not take up his cross and follow me, and keep my
commandments, the same shall not be saved.
3. Behold, I, the Lord, command; and he that will not obey shall be
cut off in mine own due time, after I have commanded and the commandment
is broken.
4. Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke, as it seemeth me good;
and all this to be answered upon the heads of the rebellious, saith the
Lord.
5. Wherefore, I revoke the commandment which was given unto my
servants Thomas B. Marsh and Ezra Thayre, and give a new commandment unto
my servant Thomas, that he shall take up his journey speedily to the land
of Missouri, and my servant Selah J. Griffin shall also go with him.
6. For behold, I revoke the commandment which was given unto my
servants Selah J. Griffin and Newel Knight, in consequence of the
stiffneckedness of my people which are in Thompson and their rebellions.
7. Wherefore, let my servant Newel Knight remain with them, and as
many as will go may go, that are contrite before me, and be led by him to
the land which I have appointed.
8. And again, verily I say unto you, that my servant Ezra Thayre must
repent of his pride, and of his selfishness, and obey the former
commandment which I have given him concerning the place upon which he
lives.
9. And if he will do this, as there shall be no divisions made upon
the land, he shall be appointed still to go to the land of Missouri.
10. Otherwise he shall receive the money which he has paid, and shall
leave the place, and shall be cut off out of my church, saith the Lord God
of hosts;
11. And though the heaven and the earth pass away, these words shall
not pass away, but shall be fulfilled.
12. And if my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., must needs pay the money,
behold, I, the Lord, will pay it unto him again in the land of Missouri,
that those of whom he shall receive may be rewarded again according to
that which they do;
13. For according to that which they do they shall receive, even in
lands for their inheritance.
14. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people--you have many things
to do and to repent of; for behold, your sins have come up unto me, and
are not pardoned, because you seek to counsel in your own ways.
15. And your hearts are not satisfied. And ye obey not the truth, but
have pleasure in unrighteousness.
16. Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the
poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your
lamentation in the day of visitation and of judgment, and of indignation:
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!
17. Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits
are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are
not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of
greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands!
18. But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are
broken, and whose spirits are contrite for they shall see the kingdom of
God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the
fatness of the earth shall be theirs.
19. For behold, the Lord shall come, and his recompense shall be with
him, and he shall reward every man, and the poor shall rejoice;
20. And their generations shall inherit the earth from generation to
generation, for ever and ever. And now I make an end of speaking unto you.
Even so. Amen.
On the 19th of June, in company with Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris
Edward Partridge, William W. Phelps, Joseph Coe, Algernon S. Gilbert and
his wife, I started from Kirtland, Ohio, for the land of Missouri,
agreeable to the commandment before received, wherein it was promised that
if we were faithful, the land of our inheritance, even the place for the
city of the New Jerusalem, should be revealed. We went by wagon, canal
boats, and stages to Cincinnati, where I had an interview with the Rev.
Walter Scott, one of the founders of the Campbellites, or Newlight
church. Before the close of our interview, he manifested one of the
bitterest spirits against the doctrine of the New Testament (that "these
signs shall follow them that believe," as recorded in Mark the 16th
chapter,) that I ever witnessed among men. We left Cincinnati in a
steamer, and landed at Louisville, Kentucky, where we were detained three
days in waiting for a steamer to convey us to St. Louis. At St. Louis,
myself, Brothers Harris, Phelps, Partridge and Coe, went by land on foot
to Independence, Jackson county, Missouri, where we arrived about the
middle of July, and the rest of the company came by water a few days
later.
Notwithstanding the corruptions and abominations of the times, and
the evil spirit manifested towards us on account of our belief in the Book
of Mormon, at many places and among various persons, yet the Lord
continued His watchful care and loving kindness to us day by day; and we
made it a rule wherever there was an opportunity, to read a chapter in the
Bible, and pray; and these seasons of worship gave us great consolation.
The meeting of our brethren, who had long awaited our arrival, was a
glorious one, and moistened with many tears. It seemed good and pleasant
for brethren to meet together in unity. But our reflections were many,
coming as we had from a highly cultivated state of society in the east,
and standing now upon the confines or western limits of the United States,
and looking into the vast wilderness of those that sat in darkness; how
natural it was to observe the degradation, leanness of intellect,
ferocity, and jealousy of a people that were nearly a century behind the
times, and to feel for those who roamed about without the benefit of
civilization, refinement, or religion; yea, and exclaim in the language of
the Prophets: "When will the wilderness blossom as the rose? When will
Zion be built up in her glory, and where will Thy temple stand, unto which
all nations shall come in the last days?" Our anxiety was soon relieved by
receiving the following:
Revelation, given in Zion, July, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who
have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this
land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have
appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints.
2. Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city
of Zion.
3. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here
is wisdom. Behold the place which is now called Independence is the center
place; and the spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is
not far from the court-house.
4. Wherefore, it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the
Saints, and also every tract lying westward, even unto the line running
directly between Jew and Gentile.
5. And also every tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my
disciples are enabled to buy lands. Behold, this is wisdom, that they may
obtain it for an everlasting inheritance.
6. And let my servant Sidney Gilbert stand in the office to which I
have appointed him, to receive monies, to be an agent unto the church, to
buy land in all the regions round about, inasmuch as can be done in
righteousness, and as wisdom shall direct.
7. And let my servant Edward Partridge stand in the office to which I
have appointed him, and divide unto the Saints their inheritance, even as
I have commanded; and also those whom he has appointed to assist him.
8. And again, verily I say unto you let my servant Sidney Gilbert
plant himself in this place, and establish a store, that he may sell goods
without fraud, that he may obtain money to buy lands for the good of the
Saints, and that he may obtain whatsoever things the disciples may need to
plant them in their inheritance.
9. And also let my servant Sidney Gilbert obtain a license--behold
here is wisdom, and whoso readeth let him understand--that he may send
goods also unto the people, even by whom he will as clerks employed in his
service.
10. And thus provide for my saints, that my gospel may be preached
unto those who sit in darkness, and in the region and shadow of death.
11. And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant William W.
Phelps be planted in this place, and be established as a printer unto the
church.
12. And lo, if the world receive his writings--behold here is
wisdom--let him obtain whatsoever he can obtain in righteousness, for the
good of the Saints.
13. And let my servant Oliver Cowdery assist him, even as I have
commanded, in whatsoever place I shall appoint unto him, to copy, and to
correct, and select, that all things may be right before me, as it shall
be proved by the Spirit through him.
14. And thus let those of whom I have spoken be planted in the land
of Zion, as speedily as can be, with their families, to do those things
even as I have spoken.
15. And now concerning the gathering--Let the bishop and the agent
make preparations for those families which have been commanded to come to
this land, as soon as possible, and plant them in their inheritance.
And unto the residue of both elders and members further directions
shall be given hereafter. Even so. Amen.
The first Sabbath after our arrival in Jackson county, Brother W. W.
Phelps preached to a western audience over the boundary of the United
States, wherein were present specimens of all the families of the earth;
Shem, Ham and Japheth; several of the Lamanites or Indians--representative
of Shem; quite a respectable number of negroes--descendants of Ham; and
the balance was made up of citizens of the surrounding country, and fully
represented themselves as pioneers of the West. At this meeting two were
baptized, who had previously believed in the fulness of the Gospel.
During this week the Colesville branch, referred to in the latter
part of the last revelation, and Sidney Rigdon, Sidney Gilbert and wife
and Elders Morley and Booth, arrived. I received the following:
Revelation, given in Zion, August, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye elders of my church, and give ear to my word, and
learn of me what I will concerning you, and also concerning this land unto
which I have sent you.
2. For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my
commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in
tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
3. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the
design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and
the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
4. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day
cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but
is nigh at hand.
5. Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to
heart, and receive that which is to follow.
6. Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent
you--that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to
bear testimony of the things which are to come;
7. And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and
in bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand;
8. And also that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the
poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined, that
the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail;
9. Yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which
all nations shall be invited.
10. First, the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble;
11. And after that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor,
the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the
Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to
come.
12. Behold, I, the Lord, have spoken it.
13. And that the testimony might go forth from Zion, yea, from the
mouth of the city of the heritage of God--
14. Yea, for this cause I have sent you hither, and have selected my
servant Edward Partridge, and have appointed unto him his mission in this
land.
15. But if he repent not of his sins, which are unbelief and
blindness of heart, let him take heed lest he fall.
16. Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall not be given
again.
17. And whoso standeth in this mission is appointed to be a judge in
Israel, like as it was in ancient days, to divide the lands of the
heritage of God unto his children;
18. And to judge his people by the testimony of the just, and by the
assistance of his counselors, according to the laws of the kingdom which
are given by the prophets of God.
19. For verily I say unto you, my law shall be kept on this land.
20. Let no man think he is ruler, but let God rule him that judgeth
according to the counsel of his own will, or, in other words, him that
counseleth or sitteth upon the judgment seat.
21. Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the
laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.
22. Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns
whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet.
23. Behold, the laws which ye have received from my hand are the laws
of the church, and in this light ye shall hold them forth. Behold, here is
wisdom.
24. And now as I spake concerning my servant Edward Partridge, this
land is the land of his residence, and those whom he has appointed for his
counselor; and also the land of the residence of him whom I have appointed
to keep my store-house;
25. Wherefore, let them bring their families to this land, as they
shall counsel between themselves and me,
26. For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things,
for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a
wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
27. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much
righteousness:
28. For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their
reward.
29. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and
receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with
slothfulness, the same is damned.
30. Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him
guiltless that obeys not my commandments?
31. Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not
fulfilled?
32. I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the
blessing.
33. Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord,
for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward
lurketh beneath, and not from above.
34. And now I give unto you further directions concerning this land.
35. It is wisdom in me that my servant Martin Harris should be an
example unto the church, in laying his monies before the bishop of the
church.
36. And also, this is a law unto every man that cometh unto this land
to receive an inheritance; and he shall do with his monies according as
the law directs.
37. And it is wisdom also that there should be lands purchased in
Independence, for the place of the store-house, and also for the house of
the printing.
38. And other directions concerning my servant Martin Harris shall be
given him of the Spirit, that he may receive his inheritance as seemeth
him good;
39. And let him repent of his sins, for he seeketh the praise of the
world.
40. And also let my servant William W. Phelps stand in the office
which I have appointed him, and receive his inheritance in the land;
41. And also he hath need to repent, for I, the Lord, am not well
pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek
before me.
42. Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven and
I, the Lord, remember them no more.
43. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins--behold he
will confess them and forsake them.
44. And now, verily, I say concerning the residue of the elders of my
church, the time has not yet come, for many years, for them to receive
their inheritance in this land, except they desire it through the prayer
of faith, only as it shall be appointed unto them of the Lord.
45. For, behold, they shall push the people together from the ends of
the earth.
46. Wherefore, assemble yourselves together; and they who are not
appointed to stay in this land, let them preach the gospel in the regions
round about; and after that let them return to their homes.
47. Let them preach by the way, and bear testimony of the truth in
all places, and call upon the rich, the high and the low, and the poor to
repent.
48. And let them build up churches, inasmuch as the inhabitants of
the earth will repent.
49. And let there be an agent appointed by the voice of the church,
unto the church in Ohio, to receive monies to purchase lands in Zion.
50. And I give unto my servant Sidney Rigdon a commandment, that he
shall write a description of the land of Zion, and a statement of the will
of God, as it shall be made known by the Spirit unto him;
51. And an epistle and subscription, to be presented unto all the
churches to obtain monies, to be put into the hands of the bishop, of
himself or the agent, as seemeth him good or as he shall direct, to
purchase lands for an inheritance for the children of God.
52. For, behold, verily I say unto you, the Lord willeth that the
disciples, and the children of men should open their hearts, even to
purchase this whole region of country, as soon as the time will permit.
53. Behold, here is wisdom. Let them do this lest they receive none
inheritance, save it be by the shedding of blood.
54. And again, inasmuch as there is land obtained, let there be
workmen sent forth of all kinds unto this land, to labor for the saints of
God.
55. Let all these things be done in order; and let the privileges of
the lands be made known from time to time, by the bishop or the agent of
the church.
56. And let the work of the gathering be not in haste, nor by flight
but let it be done as it shall be counseled by the elders of the church at
the conferences, according to the knowledge which they receive from time
to time.
57. And let my servant Sidney Rigdon consecrate and dedicate this
land, and the spot for the temple unto the Lord.
58. And let a conference meeting be called; and after that let my
servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jun., return, and also Oliver
Cowdery with them, to accomplish the residue of the work which I have
appointed unto them in their own land, and the residue as shall be ruled
by the conferences.
59. And let no man return from this land except he bear record by the
way of that which he knows and most assuredly believes.
60. Let that which has been bestowed upon Ziba Peterson be taken from
him, and let him stand as a member in the church, and labor with his own
hands, with the brethren, until he is sufficiently chastened for all his
sins; for he confesseth them not, and he thinketh to hide them.
61. Let the residue of the elders of this church, who are coming to
this land, some of whom are exceedingly blessed even above measure, also
hold a conference upon this land.
62. And let my servant Edward Partridge direct the conference which
shall be held by them.
63. And let them also return, preaching the gospel by the way,
bearing record of the things which are revealed unto them.
64. For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the
world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth--the gospel must be
preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe.
65. And behold the Son of man cometh. Amen.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE FOUNDING OF ZION.
On the second day of August, I assisted the Colesville branch of the
Church to lay the first log, for a house, as a foundation of Zion in Kaw
township, twelve miles west of Independence. The log was carried and
placed by twelve men, in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel. At the
same time, through prayer, the land of Zion was consecrated and dedicated
by Elder Sidney Rigdon for the gathering of the Saints. It was a season
of joy to those present, and afforded a glimpse of the future, which time
will yet unfold to the satisfaction of the faithful.
As we had received a commandment for Elder Rigdon to write a
description of the land of Zion, we sought for all the information
necessary to accomplish so desirable an object. The country is unlike the
timbered states of the East. As far as the eye can reach the beautiful
rolling prairies lie spread out like a sea of meadows; and are decorated
with a growth of flowers so gorgeous and grand as to exceed description;
and nothing is more fruitful, or a richer stockholder in the blooming
prairie than the honey bee. Only on the water courses is timber to be
found. There in strips from one to three miles in width, and following
faithfully the meanderings of the streams, it grows in luxuriant forests.
The forests are a mixture of oak, hickory, black walnut, elm, ash, cherry,
honey locust, mulberry, coffee bean, hackberry, boxelder, and bass wood;
with the addition of cottonwood, butterwood, pecan, and soft and hard
maple upon the bottoms. The shrubbery is beautiful, and consists in part
of plums, grapes, crab apple, and persimmons.
The soil is rich and fertile; from three to ten feet deep, and
generally composed of a rich black mold, intermingled with clay and sand.
It yields in abundance, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, cotton and many other
common agricultural products. Horses, cattle and hogs, though of an
inferior breed, are tolerably plentiful and seem nearly to raise
themselves by grazing in the vast prairie range in summer, and feeding
upon the bottoms in winter. The wild game is less plentiful of course
where man has commenced the cultivation of the soil, than in the wild
prairies. Buffalo, elk, deer, bear, wolves, beaver and many smaller
animals here roam at pleasure. Turkeys, geese, swans, ducks, yea a variety
of the feathered tribe, are among the rich abundance that grace the
delightful regions of this goodly land--the heritage of the children of
God.
The season is mild and delightful nearly three quarters of the year,
and as the land of Zion, situated at about equal distances from the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as from the Alleghany and Rocky
mountains, in the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude, and between the
sixteenth and seventeenth degrees of west longitude, it bids fair--when
the curse is taken from the land--to become one of the most blessed places
on the globe. The winters are milder than the Atlantic states of the same
parallel of latitude, and the weather is more agreeable; so that were the
virtues of the inhabitants only equal to the blessings of the Lord which
He permits to crown the industry of those inhabitants, there would be a
measure of the good things of life for the benefit of the Saints, full,
pressed down, and running over, even an hundred-fold. The disadvantages
here, as in all new countries, are self-evident--lack of mills and
schools; together with the natural privations and inconveniences which the
hand of industry, the refinement of society, and the polish of science,
overcome.
But all these impediments vanish when it is recollected what the
Prophets have said concerning Zion in the last days; how the glory of
Lebanon is to come upon her; the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree
together, to beautify the place of His sanctuary, that He may make the
place of His feet glorious. Where for brass, He will bring gold; and for
iron, He will bring silver; and for wood, brass; and for stones, iron; and
where the feast of fat things will be given to the just; yea, when the
splendor of the Lord is brought to our consideration for the good of His
people, the calculations of men and the vain glory of the world vanish,
and we exclaim, "Out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God hath shined."
On the third day of August, I proceeded to dedicate the spot for the
Temple, a little west of Independence, and there were also present Sidney
Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and
Joseph Coe.
The 87th Psalm was read:--
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold
Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and
the Highest Himself shall establish her.
The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man
was born there. Selah.
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all
my springs are in thee.
The scene was solemn and impressive.
On the 4th I attended the first conference in the land of Zion. It
was held at the house of Brother Joshua Lewis, in Kaw township, in the
presence of the Colesville branch of the Church. The Spirit of the Lord
was there.
On the 7th, I attended the funeral of Sister Polly Knight, the wife
of Joseph Knight, Sen. This was the first death in the Church in this
land, and I can say, a worthy member sleeps in Jesus till the
resurrection.
I also received the following:
Revelation, given in Zion, August 7th, 1831.
1. Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto
this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments.
2. For those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die
shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and
they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have
prepared for them.
3. Yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who
have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good
things of the earth, and it shall bring forth in its strength.
4. And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and
with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time--they that
are faithful and diligent before me.
5. Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus; Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and
strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.
6. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal;
neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it.
7. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.
8. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in
righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
9. And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the
world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments
upon my holy day;
10. For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your
labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
11. Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all
days and at all times;
12. But remember that on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine
oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto
thy brethren, and before the Lord.
13. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food
be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or,
in other words, that thy joy may be full.
14. Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words rejoicing
and prayer.
15. And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with
cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin,
but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance--
16. Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the
earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that
which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;
17. Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth,
whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for
orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
18. Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof,
are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to
gladden the heart;
19. Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to
strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.
20. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man,
for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess,
neither by extortion.
21. And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath
kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not
his commandments.
22. Behold, this is according to the law and the prophets; wherefore,
trouble me no more concerning this matter.
23. But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall
receive his reward, even peace in this world and eternal life in the world
to come.
24. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and the Spirit beareth record. Amen.
On the 8th, as there had been some inquiry among the Elders what they
were to do, I received the following:
Revelation, given August, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto the elders of his church, who are
to return speedily to the land from whence they came; Behold, it pleaseth
me, that you have come up hither;
2. But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their
mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of
the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.
3. And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me,
it shall be taken away, even that which they have.
4. For I, the Lord, rule in the heavens above, and among the armies
of the earth; and in the day when I shall make up my jewels, all men shall
know what it is that bespeaketh the power of God.
5. But, verily, I will speak unto you concerning your journey unto
the land from whence you came. Let there be a craft made, or bought, as
seemeth you good, it mattereth not unto me, and take your journey speedily
for the place which is called St. Louis.
6. And from thence let my servants, Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith,
Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, take their journey for Cincinnati;
7. And in this place let them lift up their voice and declare my word
with loud voices, without wrath or doubting, lifting up holy hands upon
them. For I am able to make you holy, and your sins are forgiven you.
8. And let the residue take their journey from St. Louis, two by two,
and preach the word, not in haste, among the congregations of the wicked,
until they return to the churches from whence they came.
9. And all this for the good of the churches; for this intent have I
sent them.
10. And let my servant Edward Partridge impart of the money which I
have given him, a portion unto mine elders who are commanded to return,
11. And he that is able, let him return it by the way of the agent;
and he that is not, of him it is not required.
12. And now I speak of the residue who are to come unto this land.
13. Behold, they have been sent to preach my gospel among the
congregations of the wicked; wherefore, I give unto them a commandment,
thus; Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy
talent that it may not be known.
14. And after thou hast come up unto the land of Zion, and hast
proclaimed my word, thou shalt speedily return, proclaiming my word among
the congregations of the wicked, not in haste, neither in wrath nor with
strife.
15. And shake off the dust of thy feet against those who receive thee
not, not in their presence, lest thou provoke them; but in secret and wash
thy feet, as a testimony against them in the day of judgment.
16. Behold, this is sufficient for you, and the will of him who hath
sent you.
17. And by the mouth of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., it shall be
made known concerning Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery. The residue
hereafter. Even so. Amen.
On the 9th, in company with ten Elders, I left Independence landing
for Kirtland. We started down the river in canoes, and went the first way
as far as Fort Osage, where we had an excellent wild turkey for supper.
Nothing very important occurred till the third day, when many of the
dangers so common upon the western waters, manifested themselves; and
after we had encamped upon the bank of the river, at McIlwaine's Bend,
Brother Phelps, in open vision by daylight, saw the destroyer in his most
horrible power, ride upon the face of the waters; others heard the noise,
but saw not the vision.
The next morning after prayer, I received the following:
Revelation, given August, 1831.
1. Behold, and hearken unto the voice of him who has all power, who
is from everlasting to everlasting, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end.
2. Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you, O ye elders of my
church, who are assembled upon this spot, whose sins are now forgiven you,
for I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess
their sins with humble hearts;
3. But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole
company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the
inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief.
4. Nevertheless, I suffered it that ye might bear record; behold,
there are many dangers upon the waters, and more especially hereafter;
5. For I, the Lord, have decreed in mine anger many destructions upon
the waters; yea, and especially upon these waters.
6. Nevertheless, all flesh is in mine hand, and he that is faithful
among you shall not perish by the waters.
7. Wherefore, it is expedient that my servant Sidney Gilbert and my
servant William W. Phelps, be in haste upon their errand and mission.
8. Nevertheless, I would not suffer that ye should part until you
were chastened for all your sins, that you might be one, that you might
not perish in wickedness,
9. But now, verily I say, it behooveth me that ye should part.
Wherefore let my servants Sidney Gilbert and William W. Phelps take their
former company, and let them take their journey in haste that they may
fill their mission, and through faith they shall overcome;
10. And inasmuch as they are faithful they shall be preserved, and I,
the Lord, will be with them.
11. And let the residue take that which is needful for clothing.
12. Let my servant Sidney Gilbert take that which is not needful with
him, as you shall agree.
13. And now, behold, for your good I gave unto you a commandment
concerning these things; and I, the Lord, will reason with you as with men
in days of old.
14. Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters, but in
the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters;
15. Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon
the waters.
16. And it shall be said in days to come that none is able to go up
to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in heart.
17. And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in
the last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my Saints,
that they may partake the fatness thereof.
18. And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I
say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these
waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail
and they are caught in snares;
19. I the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon the face
thereof, and I revoke not the decree;
20. I, the Lord, was angry with you yesterday, but today mine anger
is turned away.
21. Wherefore, let those concerning whom I have spoken, that should
take their journey in haste--again I say unto you, let them take their
journey in haste.
22. And it mattereth not unto me, after a little, if it so be that
they fill their mission, whether they go by water or by land; let this be
as it is made known unto them according to their judgments hereafter.
23. And now, concerning my servants Sidney Rigdon, and Joseph Smith,
Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, let them come not again upon the waters, save it
be upon the canal, while journeying unto their homes, or in other words
they shall not come upon the waters to journey, save upon the canal.
24. Behold, I, the Lord, have appointed a way for the journeying of
my Saints; and behold this is the way--that after they leave the canal,
they shall journey by land, inasmuch as they are commanded to journey and
go up unto the land of Zion;
25. And they shall do like unto the children of Israel, pitching
their tents by the way.
26. And, behold, this commandment you shall give unto all your
brethren.
27. Nevertheless, unto whom it is given power to command the waters,
unto him it is given by the Spirit to know all his ways;
28. Wherefore, let him do as the Spirit of the living God commandeth
him, whether upon the land or upon the waters, as it remaineth with me to
do hereafter.
29. And unto you it is given the course for the saints, or the way
for the saints of the camp of the Lord, to journey.
30. And again, verily I say unto you, my servants, Sidney Rigdon,
Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, shall not open their mouths in the
congregations of the wicked, until they arrive at Cincinnati;
31. And in that place they shall lift up their voices unto God
against that people; yea unto him whose anger is kindled against their
wickedness, a people who are well-nigh ripened for destruction.
32. And from thence let them journey for the congregations of their
brethren, for their labors even now are wanted more abundantly among them
than among the congregations of the wicked.
33. And now, concerning the residue, let them journey and declare the
word among the congregations of the wicked, inasmuch as it is given;
34. And inasmuch as they do this they shall rid their garments, and
they shall be spotless before me.
35. And let them journey together, or two by two, as seemeth them
good, only let my servant Reynolds Cahoon, and my servant Samuel H. Smith,
with whom I am well pleased, be not separated until they return to their
homes, and this for a wise purpose in me.
36. And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say
unto all, be of good cheer, little children, for I am in your midst, and I
have not forsaken you;
37. And inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the
blessings of the kingdom are yours.
38. Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth
for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not.
39. Pray always that you enter not into temptation, that you may
abide the day of his coming, whether in life or in death. Even so. Amen.
On the 13th [August] I met several of the Elders on their way to the
land of Zion, and after the joyful salutations with which brethren meet
each other, who are actually "contending for the faith once delivered to
the Saints," I received the following:
Revelation, given August, 1831.
1. Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your
God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and
how to succor them who are tempted.
2. And verily mine eyes are upon those who have not as yet gone up
unto the land of Zion; wherefore your mission is not yet full.
3. Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have
borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon, and they rejoice
over you, and your sins are forgiven you.
4. And now continue your journey. Assemble yourselves upon the land
of Zion; and hold a meeting and rejoice together, and offer a sacrament
unto the Most High.
5. And then you may return to bear record, yea, even all together, or
two by two as seemeth you good, it mattereth not unto me; only be faithful
and declare glad tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, of among the
congregations of the wicked.
6. Behold, I, the Lord, have brought you together that the promise
might be fulfilled, that the faithful among you should be preserved and
rejoice together in the land of Missouri. I, the Lord, promised the
faithful and cannot lie.
7. I, the Lord, am willing, if any among you desire to ride upon
horses, or upon mules, or in chariots, he shall receive this blessing, if
he receive it from the hand of the Lord, with a thankful heart in all
things.
8. These things remain with you to do according to judgment and the
directions of the Spirit.
9. Behold, the kingdom is yours. And behold, and lo, I am with the
faithful always. Even so. Amen.
After this meeting with the Elders, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery,
and myself, continued our journey by land to St. Louis, where we overtook
brothers Phelps and Gilbert. From this place we took stage, and they went
by water to Kirtland, where we arrived safe and well on the 27th [August].
Many things transpired upon this journey to strengthen our faith, and
which displayed the goodness of God in such a marvelous manner, that we
could not help beholding the exertions of Satan to blind the eyes of the
people, so as to hide the true light that lights every man that comes into
the world.
In these infant days of the Church, there was a great anxiety to
obtain the word of the Lord upon every subject that in any way concerned
our salvation; and as the land of Zion was now the most important temporal
object in view, I enquired of the Lord for further information upon the
gathering of the Saints, and the purchase of the land, and other matters,
and received the following:
Revelation, given in Kirtland, August, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye people, and open your hearts and give ear from afar;
and listen, you that call yourselves the people of the Lord, and hear the
word of the Lord and his will concerning you.
2. Yea, verily, I say, hear the word of him whose anger is kindled
against the wicked and rebellious;
3. Who willeth to take even them whom he will take, and preserveth in
life them whom he will preserve;
4. Who buildeth up at his own will and pleasure; and destroyeth when
he pleases, and is able to cast the soul down to hell.
5. Behold, I, the Lord, utter my voice, and it shall be obeyed.
6. Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the
rebellious fear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for
the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall
know that I am God.
7. And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.
8. Verily, I say unto you, there are those among you who seek signs,
and there have been such even from the beginning;
9. But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those
that believe.
10. Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they
please, but by the will of God.
11. Yea, signs come by faith, unto mighty works, for without faith no
man pleaseth God; and with whom God is angry he is not well pleased;
wherefore, unto such he showeth no sign, only in wrath unto their
condemnation.
12. Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you who
have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men
unto my glory,
13. Nevertheless, I gave commandments, and many have turned away from
my commandments and have not kept them.
14. There were among you adulterers and adulteresses; some of whom
have turned away from you, and others remain with you that hereafter shall
be revealed.
15. Let such beware and repent speedily, lest judgment shall come
upon them as a snare, and their folly shall be made manifest, and their
works shall follow them in the eyes of the people.
16. And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh
upon a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their
hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall
fear.
17. Wherefore I, the Lord, have said that the fearful, and the
unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, and the
whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
18. Verily I say, that they shall not have part in the first
resurrection.
19. And now behold, I, the Lord, say unto you that ye are not
justified because these things are among you.
20. Nevertheless, he that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the
same shall overcome, and shall receive an inheritance upon the earth when
the day of transfiguration shall come;
21. When the earth shall be transfigured, even according to the
pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount; of which
account the fulness ye have not yet received.
22. And now, verily I say unto you, that as I said that I would make
known my will unto you, behold I will make it known unto you, not by the
way of commandment, for there are many who observe not to keep my
commandments.
23. But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the
mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living
water, springing up unto everlasting life.
24. And now, behold, this is the will of the Lord your God concerning
his saints, that they should assemble themselves together unto the land of
Zion, not in haste, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth
pestilence.
25. Behold, the land of Zion, I, the Lord, hold it in mine own hands;
26. Nevertheless, I, the Lord, render unto Caesar the things which
are Caesar's.
27. Wherefore, I the Lord will that you should purchase the lands,
that you may have advantage of the world, that you may have claim on the
world, that they may not be stirred up unto anger.
28. For Satan putteth it into their hearts to anger against you, and
to the shedding of blood.
29. Wherefore, the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase
or by blood, otherwise there is none inheritance for you.
30. And if by purchase, behold you are blessed;
31. And if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your
enemies are upon you, and ye shall be scourged from city to city, and from
synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance.
32. I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit
from the inhabitants of the earth.
33. I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the
earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon
every man;
34. And the Saints also shall hardly escape; nevertheless, I, the
Lord, am with them, and will come down in heaven from the presence of my
Father and consume the wicked with unquenchable fire.
35. And behold, this is not yet, but by and by.
36. Wherefore, seeing that I, the Lord, have decreed all these things
upon the face of the earth, I will that my Saints should be assembled upon
the land of Zion;
37. And that every man should take righteousness in his hands and
faithfulness upon his loins, and lift a warning voice unto the inhabitants
of the earth; and declare both by word and by flight, that desolation
shall come upon the wicked.
38. Wherefore, let my disciples in Kirtland arrange their temporal
concerns, who dwell upon this farm.
39. Let my servant Titus Billings, who has the care thereof, dispose
of the land, that he may be prepared in the coming spring to take his
journey up unto the land of Zion, with those that dwell upon the face
thereof, excepting those whom I shall reserve unto myself, that shall not
go until I shall command them.
40. And let all the monies which can be spared, it mattereth not unto
me whether it be little or much, be sent up unto the land of Zion, unto
them whom I have appointed to receive.
41. Behold, I, the Lord, will give unto my servant Joseph Smith,
Jun., power that he shall be enabled to discern by the Spirit those who
shall go up unto the land of Zion, and those of my disciples who shall
tarry.
42. Let my servant Newel K. Whitney retain his store, or in other
words, the store, yet for a little season.
43. Nevertheless, let him impart all the money which he can impart,
to be sent up unto the land of Zion.
44. Behold, these things are in his own hands, let him do according
to wisdom.
45. Verily I say, let him be ordained as an agent unto the disciples
that shall tarry, and let him be ordained unto this power;
46. And now speedily visit the churches, expounding these things unto
them, with my servant Oliver Cowdery. Behold, this is my will, obtaining
moneys even as I have directed.
47. He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.
48. He that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion shall receive
an inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow him, and also a
reward in the world to come.
49. Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from
henceforth, when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and
all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die
after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city.
50. And he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and hath kept the
faith, blessed is he; nevertheless, it is appointed to him to die at the
age of man.
51. Wherefore, children shall grow up until they become old; old men
shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed
in the twinkling of an eye.
52. Wherefore, for this cause preached the apostles unto the world
the resurrection of the dead.
53. These things are the things that ye must look for; and, speaking
after the manner of the Lord, they are now nigh at hand, and in a time to
come, even in the day of the coming of the Son of Man.
54. And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise;
and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the
wicked; and in that day will I send mine angels to pluck out the wicked
and cast them into unquenchable fire.
55. And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not
pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart,
and received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit;
56. Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he
shall make another; and if the Lord receive it not, behold he standeth no
longer in the office to which I have appointed him.
57. And again, verily I say unto you, those who desire in their
hearts, in meekness, to warn sinners to repentance, let them be ordained
unto this power.
58. For this is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. For I,
the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days.
59. Behold, I am from above, and my power lieth beneath. I am over
all and in all, and through all, and search all things, and the day cometh
that all things shall be subject unto me--
60. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ.
61. Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their
lips--
62. For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this
condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not
authority.
63. Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord,
will own them otherwise they shall be cut off.
64. Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be
spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no
condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without
this there remaineth condemnation.
65. Let my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, seek them
a home, as they are taught through prayer by the Spirit.
66. These things remain to overcome through patience that such may
receive a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, otherwise, a greater
condemnation. Amen.
The early part of September was spent in making preparations to
remove to the town of Hiram, and renew our work on the translation of the
Bible. The brethren who were commanded to go up to Zion were earnestly
engaged in getting ready to start in the coming October. On the 11th of
September I received the following:
Revelation, given in Kirtland.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord your God unto you, O ye elders of my
church, hearken ye and hear, and receive my will concerning you.
2. For verily I say unto you, I will that ye should overcome the
world; wherefore I will have compassion upon you.
3. There are those among you who have sinned; but verily I say, for
this once, for mine own glory, and for the salvation of souls, I have
forgiven you your sins.
4. I will be merciful unto you, for I have given unto you the
kingdom.
5. And the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom shall not be taken
from my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., through the means I have appointed,
while he liveth, inasmuch as he obeyeth mine ordinances.
6. There are those who have sought occasion against him without
cause;
7. Nevertheless, he has sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the
Lord forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask
forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.
8. My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another
and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were
afflicted and sorely chastened.
9. Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another;
for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned
before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
10. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is
required to forgive all men.
11. And ye ought to say in your hearts--let God judge between me and
thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.
12. And him that repenteth not of his sins, and confesseth them not,
ye shall bring before the church, and do with him as the scripture saith
unto you, either by commandment or by revelation.
13. And this ye shall do that God may be glorified--not because ye
forgive not, having not compassion, but that ye may be justified in the
eyes of the law, that ye may not offend him who is your lawgiver--
14. Verily I say, for this cause ye shall do these things.
15. Behold, I, the Lord, was angry with him who was my servant Ezra
Booth, and also my servant Isaac Morley, for they kept not the law,
neither the commandment;
16. They sought evil in their hearts, and I, the Lord, withheld my
Spirit. They condemned for evil that thing in which there was no evil;
nevertheless I have forgiven my servant Isaac Morley.
17. And also my servant Edward Partridge, behold, he hath sinned, and
Satan seeketh to destroy his soul; but when these things are made known
unto them and they repent of the evil, they shall be forgiven.
18. And now, verily I say that it is expedient in me that my servant
Sidney Gilbert, after a few weeks, shall return upon his business and to
his agency in the land of Zion;
19. And that which he hath seen and heard may be made known unto my
disciples, that they perish not. And for this cause have I spoken these
things.
20. And again, I say unto you, that my servant Isaac Morley may not
be tempted above that which he is able to bear, and counsel wrongfully to
your hurt, I gave commandment that his farm should be sold.
21. I will not that my servant Frederick G. Williams should sell his
farm, for I, the Lord, will to retain a strong hold in the land of
Kirtland, for the space of five years, in the which I will not overthrow
the wicked, that thereby I may save some.
22. And after that day, I, the Lord, will not hold any guilty that
shall go with an open heart up to the land of Zion; for I, the Lord,
require the hearts of the children of men.
23. Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of
Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my
people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.
24. For after today cometh the burning--this is speaking after the
manner of the Lord--for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that
do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the
Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.
25. Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called
today.
26. And it is not meet that my servants, Newel K. Whitney and Sidney
Gilbert, should sell their store and their possessions here; for this is
not wisdom until the residue of the church, which remaineth in this place,
shall go up unto the land of Zion.
27. Behold, it is said in my laws, or forbidden, to get in debt to
thine enemies;
28. But behold, it is not said at any time that the Lord should not
take when he please, and pay as seemeth him good.
29. Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord's errand; and
whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord's business.
30. And he hath set you to provide for his saints in these last days,
that they may obtain an inheritance in the land of Zion.
31. And behold, I, the Lord, declare unto you, and my words are sure
and shall not fail, that they shall obtain it.
32. But all things must come to pass in their time.
33. Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the
foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which
is great.
34. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the
willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last
days.
35. And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and
shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
36. For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of
Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out.
37. Behold, I, the Lord, have made my church in these last days like
unto a judge sitting on a hill or in a high place, to judge the nations.
38. For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall
judge all things pertaining to Zion.
39. And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who
are not apostles and prophets shall be known.
40. And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they
are not faithful in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others
shall be planted in their stead.
41. For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the
glory of the Lord shall be upon her;
42. And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come
unto her out of every nation under heaven.
43. And the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall
tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones. The
Lord hath spoken it. Amen.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE APOSTASY OF EZRA BOOTH--PREPARATIONS FOR PUBLISHING
THE BOOK OF COMMANDMENTS.
On the 12th of September, I removed with my family to the township of
Hiram, and commenced living with John Johnson. Hiram was in Portage
county, and about thirty miles southeasterly from Kirtland, From this time
until the forepart of October, I did little more than prepare to
re-commence the translation of the Bible.
About this time Ezra Booth came out as an apostate. He came into the
Church upon seeing a person healed of an infirmity of many years
standing. He had been a Methodist priest for some time previous to his
embracing the fulness of the
Gospel, as developed in the Book of Mormon; and upon his admission
into the Church he was ordained an Elder. As will be seen by the foregoing
revelations, he went up to Missouri as a companion of Elder Morley; but
when he actually learned that faith, humility, patience, and tribulation
go before blessing, and that God brings low before He exalts; that instead
of the "Savior's granting him power to smite men and make them believe,"
(as he said he wanted God to do in his own case)--when he found he must
become all things to all men, that he might peradventure save some; and
that, too, by all diligence, by perils by sea and land, as was the case in
the days of Jesus--then he was disappointed. In the 6th chapter of St.
John's Gospel, 26th verse, it is written: "Verily, verily I say unto you,
Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the
loaves, and were filled." So it was with Booth; and when he was
disappointed by his own evil heart, he turned away, and, as said before,
became an apostate, and wrote a series of letters, which, by their
coloring, falsity, and vain calculations to overthrow the work of the
Lord, exposed his weakness, wickedness and folly, and left him a monument
of his own shame, for the world to wonder at.
A conference was held in which Brother W. W. Phelps was instructed to
stop at Cincinnati on his way to Missouri and purchase a press and type,
for the purpose of establishing and publishing a monthly paper at
Independence, Jackson county, Missouri, to be called the Evening and
Morning Star.
The first Sunday in October, Orson Hyde, a clerk in Brother Sidney
Gilbert and Newel K. Whitney's store, in Kirtland, was baptized, and
became a member of the Church, He was soon after designated as one of the
chosen men of the Lord, to bear His word to the nations.
In the fore part of October, I received the following prayer through
revelation:
Revelation
1. Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one sent down from on high, who is
mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea,
whose voice is unto men--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.
2. The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the
earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the
earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall
roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.
3. Yea, a voice crying--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye
the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom.
4. Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his
wonderful works among the people.
5. Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth,
that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days
to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in
the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on
the earth.
6. Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of
heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on
earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power
and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Soon after the above revelation was received, I renewed my work on
the translation of the Scriptures, in company with Elder Rigdon, who had
removed to Hiram, to act in his office of scribe to me.
On the 11th of October, a conference was held at Brother Johnson's
where I was living, at which the Elders were instructed in the ancient
manner of conducting meetings, of which knowledge most of them were
ignorant. A committee of six was appointed to instruct the several
branches of the Church. Elders David Whitmer and Reynolds Cahoon were
appointed as two of the said committee; with the further duty on their
mission of setting forth the condition of Brothers Joseph Smith, Jun., and
Sidney Rigdon, that they might obtain means to continue the translation.
This conference was adjourned till the 25th of October, to meet at the
house of Irenus Burnett, in Orange, Cuyahoga county.
On the 21st, I attended a special conference, to settle a difficulty
which had occurred in Kirtland, on account of William Cahoon and Peter
Devolue, having abused one of Brother Whitney's children. Elder Rigdon and
myself were appointed to go to Kirtland and settle the difficulty, which
we did.
At the conference on the 25th, at Orange, twelve High Priests,
seventeen Elders, four Priests three Teachers, and four Deacons, together
with a large congregation attended. Much business was done, and the four
remaining members of the committee, authorized by the conference at Hiram
on the 11th, were appointed, and consisted of Simeon Carter, Orson Hyde,
Hyrum Smith, and Emer Harris.
At the request of William E. M'Lellin, I inquired of the Lord, and
received the following:
Revelation, given October, 1831.
1. Behold thus saith the Lord unto my servant William E.
M'Lellin--Blessed are you, inasmuch as you have turned away from your
iniquities, and have received my truths, saith the Lord your Redeemer, the
Savior of the world, even of as many as believe on my name.
2. Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine
everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the
children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the
glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by
the prophets and apostles in days of old.
3. Verily I say unto you, my servant William, that you are clean, but
not all; repent, therefore, of those things which are not pleasing in my
sight, saith the Lord, for the Lord will show them unto you.
4. And now, verily, I, the Lord, will show unto you what I will
concerning you, or what is my will concerning you.
5. Behold, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should
proclaim my gospel from land to land, and from city to city, yea, in those
regions round about where it has not been proclaimed.
6. Tarry not many days in this place; go not up unto the land of Zion
as yet; but inasmuch as you can send, send; otherwise, think not of thy
property.
7. Go unto the eastern lands, bear testimony in every place, unto
every people and in their synagogues, reasoning with the people.
8. Let my servant Samuel H. Smith go with you, and forsake him not,
and give him thine instructions; and he that is faithful shall be made
strong in every place; and I, the Lord, will go with you.
9. Lay your hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. Return not
till I, the Lord, shall send you. Be patient in affliction. Ask, and ye
shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10. Seek not to be cumbered. Forsake all unrighteousness. Commit not
adultery--a temptation with which thou hast been troubled.
11. Keep these sayings, for they are true and faithful; and thou
shalt magnify thine office, and push many people to Zion with songs of
everlasting joy upon their heads.
12. Continue in these things even unto the end, and you shall have a
crown of eternal life at the right hand of my Father, who is full of grace
and truth.
13. Verily, thus saith the Lord your God, your Redeemer, even Jesus
Christ. Amen.
I returned from the conference at Orange, to Hiram; and as Oliver
Cowdery and John Whitmer were to start for Independence, Missouri, a
special conference was appointed for the first of November, at which I
received the following:
Revelation.
1. Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who
dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say:
Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea,
listen together.
2. For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is
none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that
shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.
3. And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their
iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall
be revealed.
4. And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths
of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.
5. And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord
have commanded them.
6. Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants,
and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them
to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth.
7. Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have
decreed in them shall be fulfilled.
8. And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these
tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal
both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;
9. Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God
shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure--
10. Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every
man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the
measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
11. Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth,
that all that will hear may hear;
12. Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is
nigh;
13. And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in
heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.
14. And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh
that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of
his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles,
shall be cut off from among the people;
15. For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine
everlasting covenant;
16. They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every
man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose
image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an
idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the
great, which shall fall.
17. Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come
upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith,
Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
18. And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim
these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled,
which was written by the prophets--
19. The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the
mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man,
neither trust in the arm of flesh--
20. But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even
the Savior of the world;
21. That faith also might increase in the earth;
22. That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
23. That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and
the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.
24. Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of
me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of
their language, that they might come to understanding.
25. And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;
26. And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;
27. And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they
might repent;
28. And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and
blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time.
29. And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even
my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the
mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon.
30. And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have
power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of
obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the
face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking
unto the church collectively and not individually--
31. For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of
allowance;
32. Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the
Lord shall be forgiven;
33. And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light
which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man,
saith the Lord of Hosts.
34. And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I
the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;
35. For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall
know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at
hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have
power over his own dominion.
36. And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall
reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the
world.
37. Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and
the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.
38. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not
myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not
pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the
voice of my servants, it is the same.
39. For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth
record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever.
Amen.
After this revelation was received, some conversation was had
concerning revelations and language I received the following:
Revelation, given November, 1831.
1. Behold and hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled
yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know,
and whose desires have come up before me.
2. Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the
earth are in mine hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give.
3. Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which
was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears
in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive.
4. And now I, the Lord, give unto you a testimony of the truth of
these commandments which are lying before you.
5. Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his
language you have known, and his imperfections you have known; and you
have sought in your hearts knowledge that you might express beyond his
language, this you also know.
6. Now, seek ye out of the Book of Commandments, even the least that
is among them, and appoint him that is the most wise among you;
7. Or, if there be any among you that shall make one like unto it,
then ye are justified in saying that ye do not know that they are true;
8. But if ye cannot make one like unto it, ye are under condemnation
if ye do not bear record that they are true.
9. For ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them, and that
which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.
10. And again verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a
promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that
inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble
yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall
be rent and you shall see me and know that I am--not with the carnal
neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.
11. For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except
quickened by the Spirit of God.
12. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither
after the carnal mind.
13. Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the
ministering of angels, wherefore, continue in patience until ye are
perfected.
14. Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own
due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you by the
hands of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. Amen.
After the foregoing was received, William E. M'Lellin, as the wisest
man, in his own estimation, having more learning than sense, endeavored to
write a commandment like unto one of the least of the Lord's, but failed;
it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The
Elders and all present that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to
imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness
of the Gospel, and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which
the Lord had given to the Church through my instrumentality; and the
Elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the
world. Accordingly I received the following:
The testimony of the witnesses to the book of the Lord's
commandments, which He gave to His Church through Joseph Smith, Jun., who
was appointed by the voice of the Church for this purpose; we therefore
feel willing to bear testimony to all the world of mankind, to every
creature upon the face of all the earth and upon the islands of the sea
that the Lord has borne record to our souls, through the Holy Ghost, shed
forth upon us, that these commandments were given by inspiration of God,
and are profitable for all men, and are verily true. We give this
testimony unto the world, the Lord being our helper and it is through the
grace of God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, that we are permitted
to have this privilege of bearing this testimony unto the world, that the
children of men may be profited thereby.
As the following Elders--Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson,
and William E. M'Lellin--were desirous to know the mind of the Lord
concerning themselves, I inquired, and received the following:
Revelation, given November, 1831.
1. My servant, Orson Hyde, was called by his ordination to proclaim
the everlasting gospel, by the Spirit of the living God, from people to
people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in
their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them.
2. And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were
ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go
forth--
3. And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they
are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost
shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of
the Lord, shall he the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord,
and the power of God unto salvation.
5. Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my
servants.
6. Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am
with you and will stand by you, and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus
Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and
that I am to come.
7. This is the word of the Lord unto you, my servant Orson Hyde, and
also unto my servant Luke Johnson and unto my servant Lyman Johnson, and
unto my servant William E. M'Lellin, and unto all the faithful elders of
my church--
8. Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature,
acting in the authority which I have given you, baptizing in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
9. And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned.
10. And he that believeth shall be blest with signs following, even
as it is written.
11. And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times,
and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man;
12. And of as many as the Father shall bear record, to you shall be
given power to seal them up unto eternal life. Amen.
13. And now, concerning the items in addition to the covenants and
commandments they are these--
14. There remain hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other
bishops to be set apart unto the church to minister even according to the
first;
15. Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they
shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood,
except they be literal descendants of Aaron.
16. And if they be literal descendants of Aaron they have a legal
right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron;
17. For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this
priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same,
18. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of this
priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the firstborn of Aaron.
19. But, as a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood has authority
to officiate in all the lesser offices he may officiate in the office of
bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is
called and set apart and ordained unto this power, under the hands of the
First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
20. And a literal descendant of Aaron also, must be designated by
this Presidency, and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the
hands of this Presidency, otherwise they are not legally authorized to
officiate in their priesthood.
21. But, by virtue of the decree concerning their right of the
priesthood descending from father to son, they may claim their anointing
if at any time they can prove their lineage, or do ascertain it by
revelation from the Lord under the hands of the above named Presidency.
22. And again, no bishop or high priest who shall be set apart for
this ministry shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before
the First Presidency of the church;
23. And inasmuch as he is found guilty before this Presidency, by
testimony that cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned;
24. And if he repent he shall be forgiven, according to the covenants
and commandments of the church.
25. And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any
of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the
doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of
baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when
eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.
26. For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any
of her stakes which are organized.
27. And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their
sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.
28. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk
uprightly before the Lord.
29. And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to
keep it holy.
30. And the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors,
inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the
idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord.
31. Now I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of
Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing
up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity but
their eyes are full of greediness.
32. These things ought not to be and must be done away from among
them, wherefore, let my servant Oliver Cowdery carry these sayings unto
the land of Zion.
33. And a commandment I give unto them--that he that observeth not
his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in
remembrance before the judge of my people.
34. These sayings are true and faithful; wherefore, transgress them
not, neither take therefrom.
35. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, and I come quickly. Amen.
It had been decided by the conference that Elder Oliver Cowdery
should carry the commandments and revelations to Independence, Missouri,
for printing, and that I should arrange and get them in readiness by the
time that he left, which was to be by--or, if possible, before--the 15th
of the month [November]. At this time there were many things which the
Elders desired to know relative to preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants
of the earth, and concerning the gathering; and in order to walk by the
true light, and be instructed from on high, on the 3rd of November, 1831,
I inquired of the Lord and received the following important revelation,
which has since been added to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
called the Appendix:
Revelation, given November 3, 1831.
1. Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God and
hear the word of the Lord concerning you--
2. The Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall
come down upon the world with a curse to judgment; yea, upon all the
nations that forget God, and upon all the ungodly among you.
3. For he shall make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of their
God.
4. Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify
yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of
Zion, all you that have not been commanded to tarry.
5. Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the
Lord.
6. Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another. And
let every man call upon the name of the Lord.
7. Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice
of the Lord is unto you; Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among
the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
8. Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar
off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon
all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.
9. And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the
Lord unto all people; Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders
of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and
that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.
10. Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and
go forth to meet the Bridegroom, behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.
11. Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.
12. Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles, flee unto Zion.
13. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the
mountains of the Lord's house.
14. Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the
midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.
15. But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste,
but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not
look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him.
16. Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye
elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he
calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
17. For behold, the Lord God hath sent forth the angel crying through
the midst of heaven, saying: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his
paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh--
18. When the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Zion, and with him a hundred
and forty-four thousand, having his Father's name written on their
foreheads.
19. Wherefore, prepare ye for the coming of the Bridegroom; go ye, go
ye out to meet him.
20. For behold, he shall stand upon the mount of Oliver, and upon the
mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of the sea, and
upon the land of Zion.
21. And he shall utter his voice out of Zion, and he shall speak from
Jerusalem, and his voice shall be heard among all people;
22. And it shall be a voice as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of a great thunder, which shall break down the mountains, and the
valleys shall not be found.
23. He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into
the north countries, and the islands shall become one land;
24. And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned
back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the
days before it was divided.
25. And the Lord, even the Savior, shall stand in the midst of his
people, and shall reign over all flesh.
26. And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance
before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no
longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall
flow down at their presence.
27. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.
28. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them.
29. And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living
water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.
30. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children
of Ephraim, my servants.
31. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at
their presence.
32. And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in
Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of
Ephraim.
33. And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.
34. Behold, this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the
tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his
fellows.
35. And they also of the tribe of Judah, after their pain shall be
sanctified in holiness before the Lord, to dwell in his presence day and
night, forever and ever.
36. And now, verily saith the Lord, that these things might be known
among you, O inhabitants of the earth, I have sent forth mine angel flying
through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel, who hath
appeared unto some and hath committed it unto man, who shall appear unto
many that dwell on the earth.
37. And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people.
38. And the servants of God shall go forth, saying with a loud voice,
Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come;
39. And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters--
40. Calling upon the name of the Lord day and night, saying; O that
thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the
mountains might flow down at thy presence.
41. And it shall be answered upon their heads; for the presence of
the Lord shall be as the melting fire that burneth, and as the fire which
causeth the waters to boil.
42. O Lord, thou shalt come down to make thy name known to thine
adversaries, and all nations shall tremble at thy presence--
43. When thou doest terrible things, things they look not for;
44. Yea, when thou comest down, and the mountains flow down at thy
presence, thou shalt meet him who rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, who
remembereth thee in thy ways.
45. For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor
perceived by the ear, neither hath any eye seen, O God, besides thee, how
great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee.
46. And it shall be said; Who is this that cometh down from God in
heaven with dyed garments; yea, from the regions which are not known,
clothed in his glorious apparel, traveling in the greatness of his
strength?
47. And he shall say; I am he who spake in righteousness, mighty to
save.
48. And the Lord shall be red in his apparel, and his garments like
him that treadeth in the wine-vat.
49. And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun
shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and
the stars shall be hurled from their places.
50. And his voice shall be heard; I have trodden the winepress alone,
and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me;
51. And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in
mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained
all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart.
52. And now the year of my redeemed is come; and they shall mention
the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them
according to his goodness, and according to his loving kindness, forever
and ever.
53. In all their afflictions he was afflicted. And the angel of his
presence saved them; and in his love, and in his pity, he redeemed them,
and bore them, and carried them all the days of old;
54. Yea, and Enoch also, and they who were with him; the prophets who
were before him; and Noah also, and they who were before him; and Moses
also, and they who were before him;
55. And from Moses to Elijah, and from Elijah to John, who were with
Christ in his resurrection, and the holy apostles, with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, shall be in the presence of the Lamb.
56. And the graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come
forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon
Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem; and they shall sing
the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever.
57. And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the
glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his
gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity--
58. To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the
earth, and for the Lord's errand in the day when the weak shall confound
the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put
their tens of thousands to flight.
59. And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the
nations by the power of his Spirit.
60. And for this cause these commandments were given; they were
commanded to be kept from the world in the day that they were given, but
now are to go forth unto all flesh--
61. And this according to the mind and will of the Lord, who ruleth
over all flesh.
62. And unto him that repenteth and sanctifieth himself before the
Lord shall be given eternal life.
63. And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord shall be
fulfilled that which was written by the prophet Moses, that they should be
cut off from among the people.
64. And also that which was written by the prophet Malachi: For,
behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea,
and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall
burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither
root nor branch.
65. Wherefore, this shall be the answer of the Lord unto them;
66. In that day when I came unto mine own, no man among you received
me, and you were driven out.
67. When I called again there was none of you to answer; yet my arm
was not shortened at all that I could not redeem, neither my power to
deliver,
68. Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a
wilderness; their fish stink, and die for thirst.
69. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their
covering.
70. And this shall ye have of my hand--ye shall lie down in sorrow.
71. Behold, and lo, there are none to deliver you; for ye obeyed not
my voice when I called to you out of the heavens; ye believed not my
servants, and when they were sent unto you ye received them not.
72. Wherefore, they sealed up the testimony and bound up the law, and
ye were delivered over unto darkness.
73. These shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping,
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
74. Behold the Lord your God hath spoken it. Amen.
The Book of Commandments and Revelations was to be dedicated by
prayer to the service of Almighty God by me; and after I had done this I
inquired of the Lord concerning these things, and received the following:
Revelation, given November, 1831.
1. Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God, for my servant Oliver
Cowdery's sake. It is not wisdom in me that he should be entrusted with
the commandments and the moneys which he shall carry unto the land of
Zion, except one go with him who will be true and faithful.
2. Wherefore, I, the Lord, will that my servant, John Whitmer, should
go with my servant Oliver Cowdery;
3. And also that he shall continue in writing and making a history of
all the important things which he shall observe and know concerning my
church;
4. And also that he receive counsel and assistance from my servant
Oliver Cowdery and others.
5. And also my servants who are abroad in the earth should send forth
the accounts of their stewardships to the land of Zion.
6. For the land of Zion shall be a seat and a place to receive and do
all these things.
7. Nevertheless, let my servant John Whitmer travel many times from
place to place, and from church to church, that he may the more easily
obtain knowledge--
8. Preaching and expounding, writing, copying, selecting, and
obtaining all things which shall be for the good of the church, and for
the rising generations that shall grow up on the land of Zion, to possess
it from generation to generation, forever and ever. Amen.
My time was occupied closely in reviewing the commandments and
sitting in conference, for nearly two weeks; for from the first to the
twelfth of November we held four special conferences. In the last which
was held at Brother Johnson's, in Hiram, after deliberate consideration,
in consequence of the book of revelations, now to be printed, being the
foundation of the Church in these last days, and a benefit to the world,
showing that the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of our Savior are
again entrusted to man; and the riches of eternity within the compass of
those who are willing to live by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God--therefore the conference voted that they prize the
revelations to be worth to the Church the riches of the whole earth,
speaking temporally. The great benefits to the world which result from the
Book of Mormon and the revelations which the Lord has seen fit in His
infinite wisdom to grant unto us for our salvation, and for the salvation
of all that will believe, were duly appreciated; and in answer to an
inquiry, I received the following:
Revelation, given November, 1831.
1. Behold, and hearken, O ye inhabitants of Zion, and all ye people
of my church who are afar off, and hear the word of the Lord which I give
unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and also unto my servant Martin
Harris, and also unto my servant Oliver Cowdery, and also unto my servant
John Whitmer, and also unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, and also unto my
servant William W. Phelps, by the way of commandment unto them.
2. For I give unto them a commandment; wherefore hearken and hear,
for thus saith the Lord unto them--
3. I, the Lord, have appointed them, and ordained them to be stewards
over the revelations and commandments which I have given unto them, and
which I shall hereafter give unto them;
4. And an account of this stewardship will I require of them in the
day of judgment.
5. Wherefore, I have appointed unto them, and this is their business
in the church of God, to manage them and the concerns thereof, yea, the
benefits thereof.
6. Wherefore a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not give
these things unto the church, neither unto the world;
7. Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for
their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my storehouse;
8. And the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of
Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according
to the laws of the kingdom.
9. Behold, this is what the lord requires of every man in his
stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed or shall hereafter
appoint unto any man.
10. And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the
church of the living God,
11. Yea, neither the bishop, neither the agent who keepeth the Lord's
storehouse, neither he who is appointed in a stewardship over temporal
things.
12. He who is appointed to administer spiritual things, the same is
worthy of his hire, even as those who are appointed to a stewardship to
administer in temporal things;
13. Yea, even more abundantly, which abundance is multiplied unto
them through the manifestations of the Spirit.
14. Nevertheless, in your temporal things you shall be equal, and
this not grudgingly, otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the
Spirit shall be withheld.
15. Now, this commandment I give unto my servants for their benefit
while they remain, for a manifestation of my blessings upon their heads,
and for a reward of their diligence and for their security:
16. For food and for raiment; for an inheritance; for houses and for
lands in whatsoever circumstances I, the Lord, shall place them, and
whithersoever I, the Lord, shall send them.
17. For they have been faithful over many things, and have done well
inasmuch as they have not sinned.
18. Behold, I, the Lord, am merciful and will bless them, and they
shall enter into the joy of these things. Even so. Amen.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE AMHERST CONFERENCE--THE VISION OF THE DEGREES OF GLORY IN
MAN'S FUTURE LIFE.
After Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer had departed for Jackson
county, Missouri, I resumed the translation of the Scriptures, and
continued to labor in this branch of my calling with Elder Sidney Rigdon
as my scribe, until I received the following:
Revelation, given December 1st, 1831.
1. Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants Joseph Smith,
Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, that the time has verily come that it is
necessary and expedient in me that you should open your mouths in
proclaiming my gospel, the things of the kingdom, expounding the mysteries
thereof out of the scriptures, according to that portion of Spirit and
power which shall be given unto you, even as I will.
2. Verily I say unto you, proclaim unto the world in the regions
round about, and in the church also, for the space of a season, even until
it shall be made known unto you.
3. Verily this is a mission for a season, which I give unto you.
4. Wherefore, labor ye in my vineyard. Call upon the inhabitants of
the earth, and bear record, and prepare the way for the commandments and
revelations which are to come.
5. Now, behold this is wisdom; whoso readeth, let him understand and
receive also;
6. For unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly,
even power.
7. Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both
in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame
shall be made manifest.
8. Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the
Lord.
9. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you--there is no weapon that is
formed against you shall prosper;
10. And if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded
in mine own due time.
11. Wherefore, keep my commandments; they are true and faithful. Even
so. Amen.
Knowing now the mind of the Lord, that the time had come that the
Gospel should be proclaimed in power and demonstration to the world, from
the Scriptures, reasoning with men as in days of old, I took a journey to
Kirtland, in company with Elder Sidney Rigdon on the 3rd day of December,
to fulfil the above revelation. On the 4th, several of the Elders and
members assembled together to learn their duty, and for edification, and
after some time had been spent in conversing about our temporal and
spiritual welfare, I received the following:
Revelation Given December 4th, 1831
1. Hearken, and listen to the voice of the Lord, O ye who have
assembled yourselves together, who are the high priests of my church, to
whom the kingdom and power have been given.
2. For verily thus saith the Lord, it is expedient in me for a bishop
to be appointed unto you, or of you, unto the church in this part of the
Lord's vineyard.
3. And verily in this thing ye have done wisely, for it is required
of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his
stewardship, both in time and in eternity.
4. For he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to
inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father.
5. Verily I say unto you, the elders of the church in this part of my
vineyard shall render an account of their stewardship unto the bishop, who
shall be appointed of me in this part of my vineyard.
6. These things shall be had on record, to be handed over unto the
bishop in Zion.
7. And the duty of the bishop shall be made known by the commandments
which have been given, and the voice of the conference.
8. And now, verily I say unto you, my servant Newel K. Whitney is the
man who shall be appointed and ordained unto this power. This is the will
of the Lord your God, your Redeemer. Even so. Amen.
9. The word of the Lord, in addition to the law which has been given,
making known the duty of the bishop who has been ordained unto the church
in this part of the vineyard, which is verily this--
10. To keep the Lord's storehouse; to receive the funds of the church
in this part of the vineyard,
11. To take an account of the elders as before has been commanded;
and to administer to their wants, who shall pay for that which they
receive, inasmuch as they have wherewith to pay;
12. That this also may be consecrated to the good of the church, to
the poor and needy.
13. And he who hath not wherewith to pay, an account shall be taken
and handed over to the bishop of Zion, who shall pay the debt out of that
which the Lord shall put into his hands.
14. And the labors of the faithful who labor in spiritual things, in
administering the gospel and the things of the kingdom unto the church,
and unto the world, shall answer the debt unto the bishop in Zion;
15. Thus it cometh out of the church, for according to the law every
man that cometh up to Zion must lay all things before the bishop in Zion.
16. And now, verily I say unto you, that as every elder in this part
of the vineyard must give an account of his stewardship unto the bishop in
this part of the vineyard--
17. A certificate from the judge or bishop in this part of the
vineyard, unto the bishop in the vineyard, unto the bishop in Zion,
rendereth every man acceptable, and answereth all things, for an
inheritance, and to be received as a wise steward and as a faithful
laborer;
18. Otherwise he shall not be accepted of the bishop of Zion.
19. And now, verily I say unto you, let every elder who shall give an
account unto the bishop of the church in this part of the vineyard be
recommended by the church or churches, in which he labors, that he may
render himself and his accounts approved in all things.
20. And again, let my servants who are appointed as stewards over the
literary concerns of my church have claim for assistance upon the bishop
or bishops in all things--
21. That the revelations may be published, and go forth unto the ends
of the earth; that they also may obtain funds which shall benefit the
church in all things;
22. That they also may render themselves approved in all things, and
be accounted as wise stewards.
23. And now, behold, this shall be an ensample for all the extensive
branches of my church, in whatsoever land they shall be established. And
now I make an end of my sayings. Amen.
24. A few words in addition to the laws of the kingdom, respecting
the members of the church--they that are appointed by the Holy Spirit to
go up unto Zion, and they who are privileged to go up unto Zion--
25. Let them carry up unto the bishop a certificate from three elders
of the church, or a certificate from the bishop;
26. Otherwise he who shall go up unto the land of Zion shall not be
accounted as a wise steward. This is also an ensample. Amen.
From this time until the 8th or 10th of January, 1832, myself and
Elder Rigdon continued to preach in Shalersville, Ravenna, and other
places, setting forth the truth, vindicating the cause of our Redeemer;
showing that the day of vengeance was coming upon this generation like a
thief in the night; that prejudice, blindness and darkness filled the
minds of many, and caused them to persecute the true Church, and reject
the true light; by which means we did much towards allaying the excited
feelings which were growing out of the scandalous letters then being
published in the Ohio Star, at Ravenna, by the before-mentioned apostate,
Ezra Booth. On the 10th of January, I received the following revelation
making known the will of the Lord concerning the Elders of the Church
until the convening of the next conference.
Revelation of January 10th, 1832+
1. For verily, thus saith the Lord, it is expedient in me that they
should continue preaching the gospel, and in exhortation to the churches
in the regions round about, until conference;
2. And then, behold, it shall be made known unto them, by the voice
of the conference, their several missions.
3. Now, verily I say unto you my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and
Sidney Rigdon, saith the Lord, it is expedient to translate again;
4. And, inasmuch as it is practicable, to preach in the regions round
about until conference; and after that it is expedient to continue the
work of translation until it be finished.
5. And let this be a pattern unto the elders until further knowledge,
even as it is written.
6. Now I give no more unto you at this time. Gird up your loins and
be sober. Even so. Amen.
Upon the reception of the foregoing word of the Lord, I recommenced
the translation of the Scriptures, and labored diligently until just
before the conference, which was to convene on the 25th of January. During
this period, I also received the following, as an explanation of the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, 7th chapter, 14th verse:
Revelation.
1. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; else were your children
unclean, but now are they holy.
2. Now, in the days of the apostles the law of circumcision was had
among all the Jews who believed not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. And it came to pass that there arose a great contention among the
people concerning the law of circumcision, for the unbelieving husband was
desirous that his children should be circumcised and become subject to the
law of Moses, which law was fulfilled.
4. And it came to pass that the children, being brought up in
subjection to the law of Moses, gave heed to the traditions of their
fathers and believed not the gospel of Christ, wherein they became unholy.
5. Wherefore, for this cause the apostle wrote unto the church,
giving unto them a commandment, not of the Lord, but of himself, that a
believer should not be united to an unbeliever; except the law of Moses
should be done away among them.
6. That their children might remain without circumcision; and that
the tradition might be done away, which saith that little children are
unholy; for it was had among the Jews;
7. But little children are holy, being sanctified through the
atonement of Jesus Christ; and this is what the scriptures mean.
A few days before the conference was to commence in Amherst, Lorain
county, I started with the Elders that lived in my own vicinity, and
arrived in good time. At this conference much harmony prevailed, and
considerable business was done to advance the kingdom, and promulgate the
Gospel to the inhabitants of the surrounding country. The Elders seemed
anxious for me to inquire of the Lord that they might know His will, or
learn what would be most pleasing to Him for them to do, in order to bring
men to a sense of their condition; for, as it was written, all men have
gone out of the way, so that none doeth good, no, not one. I inquired and
received the following:
Revelation, given January, 1832.
1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I who speak even by the voice of
my spirit, even Alpha and Omega, your Lord and your God--
2. Hearken, O ye who have given your names to go forth to proclaim my
gospel, and to prune my vineyard.
3. Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth
and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might--
4. Lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, proclaiming
the truth according to the revelations and commandments which I have given
you.
5. And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves,
and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life.
6. Therefore, verily I say unto my servant William E. M'Lellin, I
revoke the commission which I gave unto him to go unto the eastern
countries;
7. And I give unto him a new commission and a new commandment, in the
which I, the Lord, chasten him for the murmurings of his heart;
8. And he sinned; nevertheless, I forgive him and say unto him again,
Go ye into the south countries.
9. And let my servant Luke Johnson go with him, and proclaim the
things which I have commanded them--
10. Calling on the name of the Lord for the Comforter, which shall
teach them all things that are expedient for them--
11. Praying always that they faint not and inasmuch as they do this,
I will be with them even unto the end.
12. Behold, this is the will of the Lord your God concerning you.
Even so. Amen.
13. And again, verily thus saith the Lord, let my servant Orson
Hyde and my servant Samuel H. Smith take their journey into the
eastern countries, and proclaim the things which I have commanded them;
and inasmuch as they are faithful, lo, I will be with them even unto the
end.
14. And again, verily I say unto my servant Lyman Johnson, and unto
my servant Orson Pratt, they shall also take their journey into the
eastern countries; and behold, and lo, I am with them also, even unto the
end.
15. And again, I say unto my servant Asa Dodds, and unto my servant
Calves Wilson, that they also shall take their journey unto the western
countries, and proclaim my gospel, even as I have commanded them.
16. And he who is faithful shall overcome all things, and shall be
lifted up at the last day.
17. And again, I say unto my servant Major N. Ashley, and my servant
Burr Riggs, let them take their journey also into the south country.
18. Yea, let all those take their journey, as I have commanded them,
going from house to house, and from village to village, and from city to
city.
19. And in whatsoever house ye enter, and they receive you, leave
your blessing upon that house.
20. And in whatsoever house ye enter, and they receive you not, ye
shall depart speedily from that house, and shake off the dust of your feet
as a testimony against them.
21. And you shall be filled with joy and gladness; and know this,
that in the day of judgment you shall be judges of that house, and condemn
them;
22. And it shall be more tolerable for the heathen in the day of
judgment, than for that house; therefore, gird up your loins and be
faithful, and ye shall overcome all things and be lifted up at the last
day. Even so. Amen.
23. And again, thus saith the Lord unto you, O ye elders of my
church, who have given your names that you might know his will concerning
you--
24. Behold, I say unto you, that it is the duty of the church to
assist in supporting the families of those, and also to support the
families of those who are called and must needs be sent unto the world to
proclaim the gospel unto the world.
25. Wherefore, I, the Lord, give unto you this commandment, that ye
obtain places for your families inasmuch as your brethren are willing to
open their hearts.
26. And let all such as can obtain places for their families, and
support of the church for them, not fail to go into the world, whether to
the east, or to the west, or to the north, or to the south.
27. Let them ask and they shall receive, knock and it shall be opened
unto them, and be made known from on high, even by the Comforter, whither
they shall go.
28. And again, verily I say unto you, that every man who is obliged
to provide for his own family, let him provide, and he shall in nowise
lose his crown; and let him labor in the church.
29. Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not
have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways.
30. Wherefore, let my servant Simeon Carter and my servant Emer
Harris be united in the ministry;
31. And also my servant Ezra Thayre and my servant Thomas B. Marsh;
32. Also my servant Hyrum Smith and my servant Reynolds Cahoon;
33. And also my servant Daniel Stanton and my servant Seymour
Brunson;
34. And also my servant Sylvester Smith and my servant Gideon Carter;
35. And also my servant Ruggles Eames and my servant Stephen Burnett;
36. And also my servant Micah B. Welton and also my servant Eden
Smith. Even so. Amen.
Upon my return from Amherst conference, I resumed the translation of
the Scriptures. From sundry revelations which had been received, it was
apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had
been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared
self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one
according to the deeds done in the body the term "Heaven," as intended for
the Saints' eternal home must include more kingdoms than one. Accordingly,
on the 16th of February, 1832, while translating St. John's Gospel, myself
and Elder Rigdon saw the following vision:
Vision of the Glories.
1. Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye in
habitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.
2. Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his
doings none can find out.
3. His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his
hand.
4. From eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never
fail.
5. For thus saith the Lord--I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious
unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in
righteousness and in truth unto the end.
6. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory,
7. And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden
mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I
make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things
pertaining to my kingdom.
8. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to
come will I show them, even the things of many generations.
9. And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to
heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the
understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.
10. For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I
make known unto them the secrets of my will--yea, even those things which
eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.
11. We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on
the sixteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-two--
12. By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our
understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of
God--
13. Even those things which were from the beginning before the world
was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who
was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning;
14. Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the
fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the Son, whom we saw and
with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision.
15. For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord
had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth
chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows:
16. Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who
shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth--
17. They who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they
who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust--
18. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the
Spirit.
19. And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the
eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about.
20. And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the
Father, and received of his fullness;
21. And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his
throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.
22. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him,
this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him; That he lives!
23. For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the
voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--
24. That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were
created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto
God.
25. And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who
was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only
Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father,
was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,
26. And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him--he was
Lucifer, a son of the morning.
27. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the
morning!
28. And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that
we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even
the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our
God and his Christ--
29. Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth
them round about.
30. And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made
war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us;
31. Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and
have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the
power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my
power--
32. They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that
it had been better for them never to have been born;
33. For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God,
with the devil and his angels in eternity;
34. Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world
nor in the world to come--
35. Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and
having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him
unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
36. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and
brimstone, with the devil and his angels--
37. And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power;
38. Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due
time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath.
39. For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of
the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain,
who was in the bosom of the Father before the worlds were made.
40. And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of
the heavens bore record unto us--
41. That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the
world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and
to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
42. That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into
his power and made by him;
43. Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands,
except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has
revealed him.
44. Wherefore, he saves all except them--they shall go away into
everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal
punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their
torment--
45. And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their
torment, no man knows;
46. Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed
unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
47. Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but
straightway shut it up again;
48. Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the
misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are
ordained unto this condemnation,
49. And we heard the voice, saying; Write the vision, for lo, this is
the end of the vision of the sufferings of the ungodly.
50. And again we bear record--for we saw and heard, and this is the
testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in
the resurrection of the just--
51. They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed
on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried
in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he
has given--
52. That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and
cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on
of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
53. And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of
promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and
true.
54. They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
55. They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things--
56. They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his
fullness, and of his glory;
57. And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek,
which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only
Begotten Son.
58. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of
God--
59. Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or
things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's,
and Christ is God's.
60. And they shall overcome all things.
61. Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in
God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.
62. These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever
and ever.
63. These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come
in the clouds of heaven to reign on earth over his people.
64. These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.
65. These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the
just.
66. These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
67. These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels,
to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.
68. These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and
Christ are the judge of all.
69. These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the
mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement
through the shedding of his own blood.
70. These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of
the sun, even, the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun
of the firmament is written of as being typical.
71. And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these
are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the
church of the Firstborn who have received the fullness of the Father, even
as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.
72. Behold, these are they who died without law;
73. And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the
Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh;
74. Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but
afterwards received it.
75. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were
blinded by the craftiness of men.
76. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness.
77. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of
the fullness of the Father.
78. Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial,
and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.
79. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus;
wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.
80. And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the
terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the
Spirit.
81. And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that
of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the
glory of the moon in the firmament.
82. These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the
testimony of Jesus.
83. These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
84. These are they who are thrust down to hell.
85. These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the
last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have
finished his work.
86. These are they who receive not of his fullness in the eternal
world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial;
87. And the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial.
88. And also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels
who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be
ministering spirits for them; for they shall be heirs of salvation.
89. And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the
telestial, which surpasses all understanding;
90. And no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.
91. And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial which excels in all
things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in
might, and in dominion.
92. And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all
things--where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and
ever;
93. Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give
him glory forever and ever.
94. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn;
and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received
of his fullness and of his grace;
95. And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.
96. And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the
sun is one.
97. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the
moon is one.
98. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the
stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so
differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;
99. For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of
Cephas.
100. These are they who say they are some of one and some of
another--some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of
Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
101. But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus,
neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.
102. Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with
the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received
into the cloud.
103. These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and
whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
104. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth.
105. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.
106. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of
Almighty God, until the fullness of times, when Christ shall have subdued
all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work;
107. When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the
Father, spotless, saying; I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press
alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
108. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on
the throne of his power to reign forever and ever.
109. But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the
telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the
firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore;
110. And heard the voice of the Lord, saying: These all shall bow the
knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne
forever and ever;
111. For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man
shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the
mansions which are prepared;
112. And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and
Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.
113. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were
commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.
114. But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the
mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all
understanding in glory, and in might and in dominion;
115. Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in
the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter;
116. Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to
be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows
on those who love him, and purify themselves before him;
117. To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for
themselves;
118. That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in
the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory.
119. And to God and the Lamb be glory, and honor, and dominion
forever and ever. Amen.
Nothing could be more pleasing to the Saints upon the order of the
kingdom of the Lord, than the light which burst upon the world through the
foregoing vision. Every law, every commandment, every promise, every
truth, and every point touching the destiny of man, from Genesis to
Revelation, where the purity of the scriptures remains unsullied by the
folly of men, go to show the perfection of the theory [of different
degrees of glory in the future life] and witnesses the fact that that
document is a transcript from the records of the eternal world. The
sublimity of the ideas; the purity of the language; the scope for action;
the continued duration for completion, in order that the heirs of
salvation may confess the Lord and bow the knee; the rewards for
faithfulness, and the punishments for sins, are so much beyond the
narrow-mindedness of men, that every honest man is constrained to exclaim:
"It came from God."
About the first of March, in connection with the translation of the
Scriptures, I received the following explanation of the Revelation of St.
John:
Revelation, given at Hiram, Portage County, Ohio.
1. Q. What is the sea of glass spoken of by John, 4th chapter, and
6th verse of the Revelation?
A. It is the earth, in its sanctified, immortal, and eternal state.
2. Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the
same verse?
A. They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in
describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of
beasts, and of creeping things and of the fowls of the air; that which is
spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which
is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man
in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every
other creature which God has created.
3. Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they
represent classes or orders?
A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to
John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined
order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.
4. Q. What are we to understand by the eyes and wings, which the
beasts had?
A. Their eyes are a representation of light and knowledge, that is,
they are full of knowledge; and their wings are a representation of power,
to move, to act, etc.
5. Q. What are we to understand by the four and twenty elders, spoken
of by John?
A. We are to understand that these elders whom John saw, were elders
who had been faithful in the work of the ministry and were dead; who
belonged to the seven churches, and were then in the paradise of God.
6. Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was
sealed on the back with seven seals?
A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will,
mysteries, and works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning
this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its
temporal existence.
7. Q. What are we to understand by the seven seals with which it was
sealed?
A. We are to understand that the first seal contains the things of
the first thousand years, and the second also of the second thousand
years, and so on until the seventh.
8. Q. What are we to understand by the four angels, spoken of in the
7th chapter and 1st verse of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that they are four angels sent forth from
God, to whom is given power over the four parts of the earth, to save life
and to destroy; these are they who have the everlasting gospel to commit
to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; having power to shut up the
heavens, to seal up unto life, or to cast down to the regions of darkness.
9. Q. What are we to understand by the angel ascending from the east,
Revelation 7th chapter and 2nd verse?
A. We are to understand that the angel ascending from the east is he
to whom is given the seal of the living God over the twelve tribes of
Israel; wherefore, he crieth unto the four angels having the everlasting
gospel, saying: Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till
we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And, if you
will receive it, this is Elias which was to come to gather together the
tribes of Israel and restore all things.
10. Q. What time are the things spoken of in this chapter to be
accomplished?
A. They are to be accomplished in the sixth thousand years, or the
opening of the sixth seal.
11. Q. What are we to understand by sealing the one hundred and
forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel--twelve thousand out
of every tribe?
A. We are to understand that those who are sealed are high priests,
ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel;
for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the
earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.
12. Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets,
mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and
on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also
formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the
seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete
the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things,
except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have
sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the
trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work,
in the beginning of the seventh thousand years--the preparing of the way
before the time of his coming.
13. Q. When are the things to be accomplished, which are written in
the 9th chapter of Revelation?
A. They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh seal,
before the coming of Christ.
14. Q. What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten
by John, as mentioned in the 10th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that it was a mission, and an ordinance, for
him to gather the tribes of Israel; behold, this is Elias, who, as it is
written, must come and restore all things.
15. Q. What is to be understood by the two witnesses, in the eleventh
chapter of Revelation?
A. They are two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish
nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration, and to prophesy
to the Jews alter they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem
in the land of their fathers.
Besides the work of translating, previous to the 20th of March, I
received the four following revelations:--
Revelation, given March, 1832. The order given of the Lord to Enoch
[Joseph Smith, Jun.,] for the purpose of establishing the poor.
1. The Lord spake unto Enoch [Joseph Smith, Jun.], saying; Hearken
unto me, saith the Lord your God, who are ordained unto the high
priesthood of my church, who have assembled yourselves together;
2. And listen to the counsel of him who has ordained you from on
high, who shall speak in your ears the words of wisdom, that salvation may
be unto you in that thing which you have presented before me, saith the
Lord God.
3. For verily I say unto you, the time has come, and is now at hand;
and behold, and lo, it must needs be that there be an organization of my
people, in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for
the poor of my people, both in this place and in the land of Zion--
4. Or in other words, the city of Enoch--Joseph--, for a permanent
and everlasting establishment and order unto my church, to advance the
cause, which ye have espoused, to the salvation of man, and to the glory
of your Father who is in heaven;
5. That you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and
earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things.
6. For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in
obtaining heavenly things;
7. For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial
world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have
commanded you and required of you.
8. And now, verily thus saith the Lord, it is expedient that all
things be done unto my glory, by you who are joined together in this
order;
9. Or, in other words, let my servant Ahashdah [Newel K. Whitney] and
my servant Gazelam, or Enoch [Joseph Smith, Jun.,] and my servant
Pelagoram [Sidney Rigdon], sit in council with the saints which are in
Zion;
10. Otherwise Satan seeketh to turn their hearts away from the truth,
that they become blinded and understand not the things which are prepared
for them.
11. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, to prepare and organize
yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken.
12. And he who breaketh it shall lose his office and standing in the
church, and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the
day of redemption.
13. Behold this is the preparation wherewith I prepare you, and the
foundation, and the ensample which I give unto you, whereby you may
accomplish the commandments which are given you;
14. That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which
shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all
other creatures beneath the celestial world;
15. That you may come up unto the crown prepared for you, and be made
rulers over many kingdoms saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Zion, who
hath established the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman;
16. Who hath appointed Michael your prince, and established his feet,
and set him upon high, and given unto him the keys of salvation under the
counsel and direction of the Holy One, who is without beginning of days or
end of life
17. Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye
have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own
hands and prepared for you;
18. And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good
cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings
thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
19. And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made
glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him even an
hundred fold, yea, more.
20. Wherefore, do the things which I have commanded you, saith your
Redeemer, even the Son Ahman, who prepareth all things before he taketh
you;
21. For ye are the church of the Firstborn, and be will take you up
in a cloud, and appoint every man his portion.
22. And he that is a faithful and wise steward shall inherit all
things. Amen.
Revelation, given March, 1832.
1. Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that my servant Jared
Carter should go again into the eastern countries, from place to place,
and from city to city, in the power of the ordination wherewith he has
been ordained, proclaiming glad tidings of great joy, even the everlasting
gospel.
2. And I will send upon him the Comforter, which shall teach him the
truth and the way whither he shall go;
3. And inasmuch as he is faithful, I will crown him again with
sheaves.
4. Wherefore, let your heart be glad, my servant Jared Carter, and
fear not, saith your Lord, even Jesus Christ. Amen.
Revelation, given March, 1832.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Stephen Burnett:
Go ye, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature that
cometh under the sound of your voice.
2. And inasmuch as you desire a companion, I will give unto you my
servant Eden Smith.
3. Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to
the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go
amiss.
4. Therefore, declare the things which ye have heard, and verily
believe, and know to be true.
5. Behold, this is the will of him who hath called you, your
Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. Amen.
Revelation, given March, 1832.+
1. Verily, verily I say unto you my servant Frederick G. Williams:
Listen to the voice of him who speaketh, to the word of the Lord your God,
and hearken to the calling wherewith you are called, even to be a high
priest in my church, and a counselor unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun.
2. Unto whom I have given the keys of the kingdom, which belong
always unto the Presidency of the High Priesthood;
3. Therefore, verily I acknowledge him and will bless him, and also
thee, inasmuch as thou art faithful in counsel, in the office which I have
appointed unto you, in prayer always, vocally and in thy heart in public
and in private, also in thy ministry in proclaiming the gospel in the land
of the living, and among thy brethren.
4. And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy
fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord.
5. Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed
unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and
strengthen the feeble knees.
6. And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of
immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the
house of my Father.
7. Behold, and lo, these are the words of Alpha and Omega, even Jesus
Christ. Amen.
CHAPTER XIX.
MOB VIOLENCE AT HIRAM--THE SECOND JOURNEY OF THE PROPHET TO ZION,
AND RETURN TO KIRTLAND.
I RECEIVED a letter from the brethren who went up to the land of
Zion, stating that they had arrived at Independence, Missouri, in good
health and spirits, with a printing press and a store of goods. Agreeable
to the instructions of the fall conference, they also sent me the
prospectus of a monthly paper, The Evening and Morning Star.
The time for the accomplishment of these things is rapidly
approaching. It will be attended with the sore judgments of God upon the
wicked. And as in all past ages, before allowing judgments to fall upon
the wicked, God has sent them a word of warning and an opportunity to
repent, so too in the crisis pending the Lord will not bring the
threatened calamity upon mankind without sending forth due warning.
"Therefore, in the fear of Him (the Lord) and to spread the truth among
all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, this paper is sent forth, that
a wicked world may know that Jesus Christ the Redeemer, who shall come to
Zion will soon appear." The Evening and Morning Star--in addition to being
a herald of Israel's return to the favor of God and a messenger of the
everlasting Gospel--will also contain whatever of truth or information
that will benefit the Saints of God temporally as well as spiritually,
"without interfering with politics, broils or the gainsaying of the
world." It is also announced that from the Star press it may be expected
as soon as wisdom directs, that there will be issued "many sacred records
which have slept for ages." The star was to be a royal quarto sheet,
issued monthly, at one dollar a year, until it should be deemed proper to
publish it oftener. The prospectus was issued In February and signed by W.
W. Phelps.
According to previous intentions, we now began to make preparations
to visit the brethren who had removed to the land of Missouri. Before
going to Hiram to live with Father Johnson, my wife had taken two
children (twins), of John Murdock's, to rear. She received them when only
nine days old; they were now nearly eleven months. I would remark that
nothing important had occurred since I came to reside in Father Johnson's
house in Hiram, except that I had held meetings on the Sabbaths and
evenings, and baptized a number.
Father Johnson's son, Olmsted Johnson, about this time came home on a
visit, during which I told him if he did not obey the Gospel, the spirit
he was of would lead him to destruction, and when he went away, he would
never return or see his father again. He went to the Southern States and
Mexico; on his return he took sick and died in Virginia.
In addition to the apostate Ezra Booth, Simonds Ryder,+ Eli Johnson,
Edward Johnson and John Johnson, Jun., had apostatized.
On the 24th of March, the twins before mentioned, which had been sick
of the measles for some time, caused us to be broken of our rest in taking
care of them, especially my wife. In the evening I told her she had better
retire to rest with one of the children, and I would watch with the sicker
child. In the night she told me I had better lie down on the trundle bed,
and I did so, and was soon after awakened by her screaming murder, when I
found myself going out of the door, in the hands of about a dozen men;
some of whose hands were in my hair, and some had hold of my shirt,
drawers and limbs. The foot of the trundle bed was towards the door,
leaving only room enough for the door to swing open. My wife heard a
gentle tapping on the windows which she then took no particular notice of
(but which was unquestionably designed for ascertaining whether or not we
were all asleep) , and soon after the mob burst open the door and
surrounded the bed in an instant, and, as I said, the first I knew I was
going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob. I made a
desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only
cleared one leg, with which I made a pass at one man, and he fell on the
door steps. I was immediately overpowered again; and they swore by G-- --,
they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me. As they passed
around the house with me, the fellow that I kicked came to me and thrust
his hand, all covered with blood, into my face and with an exulting hoarse
laugh, muttered "Ge, gee, G-- d-- ye, I'll fix ye."
They then seized me by the throat and held on till I lost my breath.
After I came to, as they passed along with me about thirty rods from the
house I saw Elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had
dragged him by his heels. I supposed he was dead. I began to plead with
them, saying, "You will have mercy and spare my life, I hope." To which
they replied, "G--d--ye, call on yer God for help, we'll show ye no
mercy;" and the people began to show themselves in every direction; one
coming from the orchard had a plank; and I expected they would kill me,
and carry me off on the plank. They then turned to the right, and went on
about thirty rods further; about sixty rods from the house, and thirty
from where I saw Elder Rigdon, into the meadow, where they stopped, and
one said, "Simonds, Simonds," (meaning, I supposed, Simonds Ryder,) "pull
up his drawers, pull up his drawers, he will take cold." Another replied:
"Ain't ye going to kill 'im? ain't ye going to kill 'im?" when a group of
mobbers collected a little way off, and said: "Simonds, Simonds, come
here;" and "Simonds" charged those who had hold of me to keep me from
touching the ground (as they had done all the time), lest I should get a
spring upon them. They held a council, and as I could occasionally
overhear a word, I supposed it was to know whether or not it was best to
kill me. They returned after a while, when I learned that they had
concluded not to kill me, but to beat and scratch me well, tear off my
shirt and drawers, and leave me naked. One cried, "Simonds, Simonds,
where's the tar bucket?" "I don't know," answered one, "where 'tis, Eli's
left it. They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when one exclaimed,
with an oath, "Let us tar up his mouth," and they tried to force the
tar-paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around, so that they could
not; and they cried out, "G--d--ye, hold up yer head and let us give ye
some tar." They then tried to force a vial into my mouth, and broke it in
my teeth. All my clothes were torn off me except my shirt collar; and one
man fell on me and scratched my body with his nails like a mad cat, and
then muttered out: "G-- d---ye, that's the way the Holy Ghost falls on
folks!"
They then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again; I pulled
the tar away from my lips, so that I could breathe more freely, and after
up, whereupon I saw two lights. I made my way towards one of them, and
found it was Father Johnson's. When I came to the door I was naked, and
the tar made me look as if I were covered with blood, and when my wife saw
me she thought I was all crushed to pieces, and fainted. During the affray
abroad, the sisters of the neighborhood had collected at my room. I called
for a blanket, they threw me one and shut the door; I wrapped it around me
and went in.
In the meantime, Brother John Poorman heard an outcry across the corn
field, and running that way met father Johnson, who had been fastened in
his house at the commencement of the assault, by having his door barred by
the mob, but on calling to his wife to bring his gun, saying he would blow
a hole through the door, the mob fled, and Father Johnson, seizing a club,
ran after the party that had Elder Rigdon, and knocked down one man, and
raised his club to level another, exclaiming, "What are you doing here?"
when they left Elder Rigdon and turned upon Father Johnson, who, turning
to run toward his own house, met Brother Poorman coming out of the corn
field; each supposing the other to be a mobber, an encounter ensued, and
Poorman gave Johnson a severe blow on the left shoulder with a stick or
stone, which brought him to the ground. Poorman ran immediately towards
Father Johnson's, and arriving while I was waiting for the blanket,
exclaimed, "I'm afraid I've killed him." Killed who? asked one; when
Poorman hastily related the circumstances of the rencounter near the corn
field, and went into the shed and hid himself. Father Johnson soon
recovered so as to come to the house, when the whole mystery was quickly
solved concerning the difficulty between him and Poorman, who, on learning
the facts, joyfully came from his hiding place.
My friends spent the night in scraping and removing the tar, and
washing and cleansing my body; so that by morning I was ready to be
clothed again. This being the Sabbath morning, the people assembled for
meeting at the usual hour of worship, and among them came also the
mobbers; viz.: Simonds Ryder, a Campbellite preacher and leader of the
mob; one McClentic, who had his hands in my hair; one Streeter, son of a
Campbellite minister; and Felatiah Allen, Esq., who gave the mob a barrel
of whiskey to raise their spirits. Besides these named, there were many
others in the mob. With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached to
the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized
three individuals.
The next morning I went to see Elder Rigdon, and found him crazy, and
his head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and
those, too, so high from the ground that he could not raise his head from
the rough, frozen surface, which lacerated it exceedingly; and when he saw
me he called to his wife to bring him his razor. She asked him what he
wanted of it; and he replied, to kill me. Sister Rigdon left the room, and
he asked me to bring his razor; I asked him what he wanted of it, and he
replied he wanted to kill his wife; and he continued delirious some days.
The feathers which were used with the tar on this occasion, the mob took
out of Elder Rigdon's house. After they had seized him, and dragged him
out, one of the banditti returned to get some pillows; when the women shut
him in and kept him a prisoner some time.
During the mobbing one of the twins contracted a severe cold,
continued to grow worse until Friday, and then died. The mobbers composed
of various religious parties, but mostly Campbellites, Methodists and
Baptists, who continued to molest and menace Father Johnson's house for a
long time. Elder Rigdon removed to Kirtland with his family--then sick
with the measles--the following Wednesday; and, on account of the mob, he
went to Chardon on Saturday, March 31st.
April first, I started for Missouri, in company with Newel K.
Whitney, Peter Whitmer, and Jesse Gause, to fulfil the revelation. Not
wishing to go by Kirtland, as another mob existed in that neighborhood
(and indeed, the spirit of mobocracy was very prevalent through that
whole region of country at the time), brother George Pitkin took us in his
wagon by the most expeditious route to Warren, where we arrived the same
day, and were there joined by Elder Rigdon, who left Chardon in the
morning; and proceeding onward, we arrived at Wellsville the next day, and
the day following at Steubenville, where we left the wagon; and on
Wednesday, the 4th of April, we took passage on board a steam packet for
Wheeling, Virginia; where we purchased a lot of paper for the press in
Zion, then in care of W. W. Phelps.
After we left Hiram, fearing for the safety of my family, on account
of the mob, I wrote to my wife (in connection with Bishop Whitney)
suggesting that she go to Kirtland and tarry with Brother Whitney's family
until our return. From Wheeling we took passage on board the steamer
Trenton. While at the dock, during the night, the boat was twice on fire
burning the whole width of the boat through into the cabin, but with so
little damage that the boat went on in the morning; and when we arrived at
Cincinnati, some of the mob which had followed us, left us, and we arrived
at Louisville the same night. Captain Brittle offered us protection on
board of his boat, and gave us supper and breakfast gratuitously.
At Louisville we were joined by Elder Titus Billings, who was
journeying with a company of Saints from Kirtland to Zion, and we took
passage on the steamer Charleston for St. Louis, where we parted from
Brother Billings and company, and by stage arrived at Independence,
Missouri, on the twenty-fourth of April, having traveled a distance of
about three hundred miles from St. Louis. We found the brethren in Zion,
generally enjoying health and faith; and they were extremely glad to
welcome us among them.
On the 26th, I called a general council of the Church, and was
acknowledged as the President, of the High Priesthood, according to a
previous ordination at a conference of High Priests, Elders and members,
held at Amherst, Ohio, on the 25th of January, 1832. The right hand of
fellowship was given to me by the Bishop, Edward Partridge, in behalf of
the Church. The scene was solemn, impressive and delightful. During the
intermission, a difficulty or hardness which had existed between Bishop
Partridge and Elder Rigdon, was amicably settled, and when we came
together in the afternoon, all hearts seemed to rejoice and I received the
following:
Revelation, given April, 1832, showing the order given to Enoch,
and the Church in his day.
1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, my servants, that inasmuch as
you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord,
forgive you.
2. Nevertheless, there are those among you who have sinned
exceedingly, yea, even all of you have sinned; but verily I say unto you,
beware from henceforth, and refrain from sin, lest sore judgments fall
upon your heads.
3. For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who
sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation
4. Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you;
and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become
transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed
unto my law.
5. Therefore, what I say unto one I say unto all: Watch, for the
adversary spreadeth his dominions, and darkness reigneth;
6. And the anger of God kindleth against the inhabitants of the
earth; and none doeth good, for all have gone out of the way.
7. And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin
to your charge go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who
sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God.
8. And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a new commandment, that
you may understand my will concerning you;
9. Or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act
before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.
10. I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what 1 say; but when ye do not
what I say, ye have no promise.
11. Therefore, verily I say unto you, that it is expedient for my
servants Alam and Ahashdah [Newel K. Whitney], Mahalaleel and Pelagoram
[Sidney Rigdon], and my servant Gazelam [Joseph Smith], and Horah and
Olihah [Oliver Cowdery], and Shalemanasseh and Mahemson [Martin Harris],
to be bound together by a bond and covenant that cannot be broken by
transgression, except judgment shall immediately follow, in your several
stewardships--
12. To manage the affairs of the poor, and all things pertaining to
the bishopric both in the land of Zion and in the land of Shinehah
[Kirtland];
13. For I have consecrated the land of Shinehah [Kirtland] in mine
own due time for the benefit of the saints of the Most High, and for a
stake to Zion.
14. For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness, her borders
must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto
you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
15. Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind
yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of
the Lord.
16. Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good.
17. And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal
claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your
stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as
his wants are just--
18. And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God,
that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other
talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord's storehouse,
to become the common property of the whole church--
19. Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all
things with an eye single to the glory of God.
20. This order I have appointed to be an everlasting order unto you,
and unto your successors, inasmuch as you sin not.
21. And the soul that sins against this covenant, and hardeneth his
heart against it, shall be dealt with according to the laws of my church,
and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of
redemption.
22. And now, verily I say unto you, and this is wisdom, make unto
yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and they will not
destroy you.
23. Leave judgment alone with me, for it is mine and I will repay.
Peace be with you, my blessings continue with you.
24. For even yet the kingdom is yours, and shall be forever, if you
fall not from your steadfastness. Even so. Amen.
On the 27th, we transacted considerable business for the salvation of
the Saints, who were settling among a ferocious set of mobbers, like lambs
among wolves. It was my endeavor to so organize the Church, that the
brethren might eventually be independent of every incumbrance beneath the
celestial kingdom, by bonds and covenants of mutual friendship, and mutual
love.
On the 28th and 29th, I visited the brethren above Big Blue river, in
Kaw township, a few miles west of Independence, and received a welcome
only known by brethren and sisters united as one in the same faith, and by
the same baptism, and supported by the same Lord. The Colesville branch,
in particular, rejoiced as the ancient Saints did with Paul. It is good
to rejoice with the people of God. On the 30th, I returned to
Independence, and again sat in council with the brethren, and received the
following;
Revelation, given April, 1832.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord, in addition to the laws of the church
concerning women and children, those who belong to the church, who have
lost their husbands or fathers:
2. Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until
their husbands are taken; and if they are not found transgressors they
shall have fellowship in the church.
3. And if they are not faithful they shall not have fellowship in the
church; yet they may remain upon their inheritances according to the laws
of the land.
4. All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance
until they are of age.
5. And after that, they have claim upon the church, or in other words
upon the Lord's storehouse, if their parents have not wherewith to give
them inheritances.
6. And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the
church; and widows and orphans shall be provided for, as also the poor.
Amen.
Our council was continued on the 1st of May, when it was ordered that
three thousand copies of the Book of Commandments be printed in the first
edition; that William W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, and John Whitmer, be
appointed to review and prepare such revelations for the press as shall be
deemed proper for publication, and print them as soon as possible at
Independence, Missouri; the announcement to be made that they are
"Published by W. W. Phelps & Co." It was also ordered that W. W. Phelps
correct and print the hymns which had been selected by Emma Smith in
fulfillment of the revelation.
Arrangements were also made for supplying the Saints with stores in
Missouri and Ohio, action, with a few exceptions, was hailed with joy by
the brethren. Before we left Independence, Elder Rigdon preached two most
powerful discourses, which, so far as outward appearance was concerned,
gave great satisfaction to the people.
On the 6th of May I gave the parting hand to the brethren in
Independence, and, in company with Brothers Rigdon and Whitney commenced a
return to Kirtland, by stage to St. Louis, from thence to Vincennes,
Indiana; and from thence to New Albany, near the falls of the Ohio river.
Before we arrived at the latter place, the horses became frightened, and
while going at full speed Bishop Whitney attempted to jump out of the
coach, but having his coat fast, caught his foot in the wheel, and had his
leg and foot broken in several places; at the same time I jumped out
unhurt. We put up at Mr. Porter's public house, in Greenville, for four
weeks, while Elder Rigdon went directly forward to Kirtland. During all
this time, Brother Whitney lost not a meal of victuals or a night's sleep,
and Dr. Porter, our landlord's brother, who attended him, said it was a
pity we had not got some "Mormon" there, as they could set broken bones or
do anything else. I tarried with Brother Whitney and administered to him
till he was able to be moved. While at this place I frequently walked out
in the woods, where I saw several fresh graves; and one day when I rose
from the dinner table, I walked directly to the door and commenced
vomiting most profusely. I raised large quantities of blood and poisonous
matter, and so great were the muscular contortions of my system, that my
jaw in a few moments was dislocated. This I succeeded in replacing with my
own hands, and made my way to Brother Whitney (who was on the bed), as
speedily as possible; he laid his hands on me and administered to me in
the name of the Lord, and I was healed in an instant, although the effect
of the poison was so powerful, as to cause much of the hair to become
loosened from my head. Thanks be to my Heavenly Father for His
interference in my behalf at this critical moment, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Brother Whitney had not had his foot moved from the bed for nearly
four weeks, when I went into his room, after a walk in the grove, and told
him if he would agree to start for home in the morning, we would take a
wagon to the river, about four miles, and there would be a ferry-boat in
waiting which would take us quickly across, where we would find a hack
which would take us directly to the landing, where we should find a boat,
in waiting, and we would be going up the river before ten o'clock, and
have a prosperous journey home. He took courage and told me he would go.
We started next morning, and found everything as I had told him, for we
were passing rapidly up the river before ten o'clock, and, landing at
Wellsville, took stage coach to Chardon, from thence in a wagon to
Kirtland, where we arrived some time in June,
CHAPTER XX.
"THE EVENING AND MORNING STAR."
As soon as I could arrange my affairs, I recommenced the translation
of the Scriptures, and thus spent most of the summer. In July we received
the first number of The Evening and Morning Star, which was a joyous treat
to the Saints. Delightful, indeed, was it to contemplate that the little
band of brethren had become so large, and grown so strong, in so short a
time as to be able to issue a paper of their own, which contained not only
some of the revelations, but other information also,--which would gratify
and enlighten the humble inquirer after truth.
So embittered was the public mind against the truth, that the press
universally had been arrayed against us; and although many newspapers
published the prospectus of our paper, yet it appeared to have been done
more to calumniate the editor, than give publicity to the forthcoming
periodical. Editors thought to do us harm, while the Saints rejoiced that
they could do nothing against the truth but for it.
The following are extracts from The Evening and Morning Star,
Independence, Missouri, June, 1832--first number:
TO MAN.
With the help of God, the first number of The Evening and Morning
Star comes to the world for the objects specified in its prospectus, which
was published last winter. That we should now recapitulate some of its
leading objects, and briefly add a few remarks, will naturally be
expected; and we cheerfully do so, that this generation may know--
That the Star comes in these last days as the friend of man, to
persuade him to turn to God and live, before the great and terrible day of
the Lord sweeps the earth of its wickedness;
That it comes not only as the messenger of truth, to bring the
revelations and commandments of God which have been, but to publish those
that God gives now, as in the days of old, for He is the same God
yesterday, today, and for ever; * * * *
That it comes as the harbinger of peace and good will to them that
serve the Lord with a determination to have part in the first
resurrection, and finally become Kings and Priests to God the Father in
the celestial kingdom, where God and Christ are, and where they will be
for eternity; * * * * *
That it comes according to the will of God from those who are not
ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ and walk lowly in the valley
of humiliation, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon them;
knowing that the great day of the Lord will soon usher in the Sabbath of
creation, for the rest of the Saints, that the Savior may reign His
thousand years of peace upon the earth while Satan is bound;
That it comes in meekness and mercy to all mankind, that they may do
works meet for repentance and be saved in the first resurrection, and
afterwards dwell with the spirits of just men made perfect in the
celestial kingdom;
That it comes to bring good tidings of great joy to all people, but
more especially to the house of Israel scattered abroad, that the day of
their redemption is near, for the Lord hath set His hand again the second
time to restore them to the lands of their inheritance;
That it comes to show that the ensign is now set up unto which all
nations shall come, and worship the Lord, the God of Jacob, acceptably;
That it comes when war, and the plague, or pestilence as it is
called, are sweeping their thousands and tens of thousands to the grave,
to show that the day of tribulation spoken of by our Savior is nigh at
hand, even at the doors;
That it comes to repeat the great caution of Paul: Beware lest any
man spoil you (the disciples of Christ), through philosophy and vain
deceit, after the traditions of men and the rudiments of the world;
That it comes to prepare the way of the Lord, that when He comes He
may have a holy people ready to receive Him;
That it comes to show that no man can be too good to be saved, but
that many may be too bad:
That it comes to declare that goodness consists in doing good, not
merely in preaching it:
That it comes to show that all men's religion is vain without
charity;
That it comes to open the way for Zion to rise and put on her
beautiful garments and become the glory of the earth, that her land may be
joined, or married (according to the known translation of Isaiah) to
Jerusalem again, and they be one as they were in the days of Peleg. * * *
* * *
Man being created but little below the angels, only wants to know for
himself and not by another, that, by obeying the commands of his Creator,
he can rise again after death, in the flesh, and reign with Christ a
thousand years on the earth without sin; be changed in the twinkling of an
eye, and become a King and Priest to God in eternity--to forsake his sins,
and say; Lord, I am thine! The first words of which we have any account
that Jesus Christ spake concerning the things of eternal life, were,
Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all
righteousness. Then he was baptized; and truly, if it became the Savior of
the world, holy as He was to be baptized in the meridian of time to fulfil
all righteousness, how much more necessary it is for man to be baptized in
order to be saved. * * *
As this paper is devoted to the great concerns of eternal things and
the gathering of the Saints, it will leave politics, the gainsaying of the
world, and many other matters, for their proper channels, endeavoring by
all means to set an example before the world, which, when followed, will
lead our fellow-men to the gates of glory, where the wicked cease from
troubling, and where the weary will find rest. That there may be errors
both in us and in the paper, we readily admit, but we mean to grow better,
till from little children, we all come into the unity of the faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ, which we pray may be the happy lot
of thousands, before He comes with the hundred and forty and four thousand
that are without guile.
TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ABROAD IN THE EARTH.
It is the duty of the Church of Christ, to Zion, to stand as an
ensign to all nations, that the Lord has set His hand the second time to
restore the house of Israel to the lands of their inheritance; and it
behooves the members of this Church to manifest before the world by a
godly walk, by a noble example, as well as by sterling precept, by
prudence in living, by plainness in dress, by industry, by economy, by
faith and works, and, above all, by solemnity, humility and patience, that
this is a day of warning and not a day of many words.
This being the order in Zion, how much more necessary is it, that the
churches of Christ, which have not yet come up to this land should show
the world, by well ordered conduct in all things, that they are the
children of the living God! It is all-important, and the salvation of many
souls depends upon their faultless example. They will, therefore, knowing
that the Lord will suddenly come to His temple, do their part in preparing
the way, by observing the Sabbath day, and keeping it holy; by teaching
their children the Gospel, and teaching them to pray by avoiding extremes
in all matters, by shunning every appearance of evil; by studying to be
approved, and doing unto others as they would have others do unto them; by
bearing trouble and persecution patiently, without a murmur, knowing that
Michael, the Arch-angel, when contending with the devil--he disputed about
the body of Moses--durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but
said, The Lord rebuke thee. They will not only set an example worthy of
imitation, but they will let their light so shine that others, seeing
their good works, may go and do likewise. Example is the great thing that
defies the world with all its vain glory; by letting their moderation be
known unto all men, both in dress and in living; in words and in deeds; in
watching and in praying; in love and in labor, and in works as well as in
faith, they [the Saints] preach the world a lecture, they set the inquirer
an example, and teach all Christendom a lesson, that studied preaching and
pulpit eloquence have failed to accomplish.
COMMON SCHOOLS.
The disciples should lose no time in preparing schools for their
children, that they may be taught as is pleasing unto the Lord, and
brought up in the way of holiness. Those appointed to select and prepare
books for the use of schools, will attend to that subject as soon as more
weighty matters are finished. But the parents and guardians in the Church
of Christ need not wait--it is all-important that children to become good
should be taught [good]. Moses, while delivering the words of the Lord to
the congregation of Israel, that is, to the parents, says, "And these
words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: and thou shalt
teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon
thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." If it were
necessary then to teach their children diligently, how much more necessary
is it now, when the Church of Christ is to be an ensign, yea, even an
ensample to the world, for good? A word to the wise ought to be
sufficient, for children soon become men and women. Yes, they are they
that must follow us, and perform the duties which not only appertain to
this world, but to the second coming of the Savior, even preparing for the
Sabbath of creation, and for eternity.
THE "STAR" OFFICE.
The Star office is situated within twelve miles of the west line of
the state of Missouri; which at present is the western limits of the
United States, and about 120 miles west of any press in the state, in
about 39 degrees of north latitude, and about 17 1/2 degrees of west
longitude, 2 1/2 miles south of Missouri river; 280 miles by land, or 500
by water, west of St. Louis; nearly 1,200 miles west of Washington; 1,300
miles from New York, and more than 1,500 miles from Boston.
In August we were again delighted to receive the Star. The following
is extracted from the second [July] number:
THE ELDERS IN THE LAND OF ZION, TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST SCATTERED ABROAD.
Brethren, we think it proper to give you some general information
respecting the present state of the Church in Zion, and also the work of
the gathering. Notwithstanding that nearly all Christendom doubt the
propriety of receiving revelations for the government of the Church of
Christ in this age, and generally adopt the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments as the only rule of faith and practice, yet we believe, from
the Scriptures of truth, that to every church in past ages which the Lord
recognized to be His, He gave revelations, wisely calculated to govern
them in the peculiar situation and circumstances under which they were
placed, and to enable them by authority to do the peculiar work which they
were to perform. The Bible contains revelations given at different times
to different people, under different circumstances, as will be seen by
editorial articles in this paper. The old world was destroyed for
rejecting the revelations of God given to them through Noah. The
Israelites were destroyed in the wilderness for despising the revelations
given to them through Moses; and Christ said that the world, in the days
of the Apostles, would be condemned for not receiving the word of God
through them: Thus we see that the judgments of God in the past ages have
come upon the people not so much for neglecting the revelations given to
their forefathers, as for rejecting those given immediately to themselves.
Of the blessings of heaven it may be said, that they always rested upon
the heads of those to whom they were promised. Therefore seeing that it
not only was, but, as long as God remains the same, always will be, the
privilege of the true Church to receive revelations containing blessings
and cursings, peculiarly adapted to itself as a Church, we conclude that
it is a mistaken notion that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
are the only rule of faith and practice; nevertheless, inasmuch as the
precepts and examples contained in them are truly applicable to us under
our particular circumstances, we are bound to be governed by them and we
also can receive much benefit from such prophecies as point out the events
that shall take place in our day and age. Of these there are many, both in
the Old and the New Testaments. They speak plainly of great things that
shall be accomplished in the last days--such as preaching the everlasting
Gospel to all nations; the gathering of the elect from the four winds of
heaven; the building up of Zion and Jerusalem, or the ingathering of the
remnants of Jacob, and the planting them in the lands of their fathers'
inheritance; the necessary preparation to meet the Savior at His second
coming, with all the Saints, to dwell with them in the millennial reign.
And now, who with the Bible in his hand, can suppose that these great and
marvelous works can be accomplished by the Church without more revelations
from the Lord? We cannot, for we worship the God of Israel, in whom is
neither variableness nor shadow of turning;--consequently as in days of
old, so in these last days, He has given us revelations by which we may
know how to organize the Church of Christ, and by His authority to perform
the work which He has enjoined upon us. And now brethren, if we wish for
blessings upon this Church, we must walk humbly before the Lord, and
observe to keep all His commandments. Notwithstanding the work of the
gathering will be accomplished, we believe in a speedy manner, yet the
Lord has commanded that it shall not be done in haste, nor by flight, but
that all things shall be prepared before you; and for this purpose He has
made it the duty of the Bishop or agent in the land of Zion to make known,
from time to time, the privileges of the land to the conferences, which
may determine and make known how many can be accommodated. And the Saints
will remember that the Bishop in the land of Zion will not receive any, as
wise stewards, without they bring a recommend from the Bishop in Ohio, or
from three Elders. The Elders therefore, will be careful not to recommend
and send up churches to this place, without first receiving information
from the Bishop in Ohio or in the land of Zion, that they can be
accommodated when they arrive, so as to be settled without confusion,
which would produce pestilence. Therefore, if a church is desirous to come
to the land of Zion, we would recommend that first, by letter or otherwise
they make known their desires and their situation to the Bishop in Ohio,
or in the land of Zion and receive information from them before they
start. Brethren will perceive as well as we, that where churches of fifty
or a hundred souls each, are coming to the land of Zion, from different
parts of the nation and, as soon will be the case, from different nations,
without a knowledge of each other they would, when they arrive, be in a
state of confusion, and labor under many disadvantages which might be
avoided by strictly observing the rules and regulations of the Church.
Moreover by being in haste and forcing the sale of property, unreasonable
sacrifices have been made and although this is a day of sacrifice and
tithing, yet to make lavish and unreasonable sacrifices is not well
pleasing in the sight of the Lord.
It is about one year since the work of the gathering commenced, in
which time between three and four hundred have arrived here and are mostly
located upon their inheritances, and are generally in good health and
spirits and are doing well. The expense of journeying and settling here
together with the establishment of a printing office and store, have
probably exceeded the expectations of our brethren abroad, and although
Zion, according to the Prophets, is to become like Eden, or the garden of
the Lord, yet, at present it is as it were but a wilderness and desert,
and the disadvantages of settling in a new country, you know, are many and
great. Therefore prudence would dictate the churches abroad, at present,
not to come up to Zion until preparations cars be made for them, and they
receive information as above. The prospect for crops in this region of
country is, at present tolerably good, but calls for provisions will
undoubtedly be considerable, for besides the emigration of the whites, the
government of the United States is settling the Indians (or remnants of
Joseph), immediately to the west, and they must be fed.
Brethren, we drop the above remarks for your benefit until you can
have the revelations to peruse for yourselves, which will be published as
soon as they consistently can be. Although the Lord has said, that it is
His business to provide for His Saints in these last days, yet remember He
is not bound so to do, unless we observe His sayings and keep them.
TO THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, WHO PREACH GOOD TIDINGS TO THE
WORLD.
Brethren, as stars of the ensign which is now set up for the benefit
of all nations, you are to enlighten the world, you are to prepare the way
for the people to come up to Zion; you are to instruct men how to receive
the fullness of the Gospel, and the everlasting covenants, even them that
were from the beginning; you are to carry the ark of safety before the
wondering multitudes without fear, entreating and beseeching all men to be
saved; you are to set an example of meekness and humility before Saints
and sinners, as did the Savior, and when reviled you are not to revile
again, you are to reason with men, as in days of old to bear patiently and
answer as the spirit of truth shall direct, allowing all credit for every
item of good. You are to walk in the valley of humility, and pray for the
salvation of all; yes, you are to pray for your enemies; and warn in
compassion without threatening the wicked with judgments which are to be
poured out upon the world hereafter. You have no right to take the
judgments, which fell upon the ungodly before the flood, and pour them
upon the head of this generation; you have no authority to use the
judgments which God sent upon Pharaoh in Egypt, to terrify the inhabitants
of America, neither have you any direction by commandment, to collect the
calamities of six thousand years and paint them upon the curtain of these
last days to scare mankind to repentance; no, you are to preach the
Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, even glad tidings of
great joy unto all people.
Again, you are not to take the blessings of an individual, or of a
church, from the days of Enoch to the days of the Apostles, and place them
upon an individual or a church in these last days; but you are to teach
all men that they shall be judged according to their works. For, if God is
the same yesterday, today, and for ever, His reward is always with Him;
and His revelations and blessings and judgments, before the flood, were
fitted for that people and that time, in the days of Abraham, for that man
and that time; in the days of Moses, for that man and that time; in the
days of David, for that man and that time; in the days of Paul for that
man and that time, and now, for this generation and this time. You
therefore, must reason from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, with great
care and not pervert the meaning of God's sacred word. If our Heavenly
Father saw fit to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, Nineveh
for its abomination and Jerusalem for a transgression of His commandments,
what have their destruction to do with the salvation of the world now? The
Lord says, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay. Teach all men to trust in
God and not in man, and do works meet for repentance. Again, teach all men
that God is a God of the living and not of the dead. Finally, whatever you
do, do it with an eye single to the glory of God. You are the light of the
world in matters of pure religion, and many souls may be required at your
hands. Let the idea not leave you, that not only the eyes of the world,
but the eyes of the angels and of God are upon you.
FOREIGN NEWS.
It is a day of strange appearances. Everything indicates something
more than meets the eye. Every nation is opening events which astonish
mankind. Even the heart of man begins to melt at the prospect before him.
The unquenchable thirst for news; the continuity of emigration, the wars
and rumors of wars, with many other signs of the distress of nations, from
the old world--as the land is called across the ocean--whisper so loud to
the understanding, that he who runs may read the label on the eastern
sky--The end is nigh. France is filled with a spirit of rebellion, and
when the cholera was sweeping its thousands mobs were collecting to slay
their tens of thousands. While the hospitals were crowded with the sick,
and the groans of the dying filled the air, the fashionable French were
holding cholera balls and dancing at the judgments of the Almighty. In
England, where an anxious multitude have been waiting for reformation in
government for years, disappointment is destruction. The house of lords
has rejected the Reform Bill, and the proud-hearted Englishman says:
Reform or Revolution! No stop there; for the sound comes across the
Atlantic: Reform or ruin! All the kingdoms of the east seem to be
preparing to act the part allotted to them, when the Lord rebukes the
nations. As on a morning of some great festival, the church bell, the
cannon, the small arms, the music, and the cheers of the multitude, arouse
all to what is going on, and thunder to man; Behold the day! So also
earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, the distress of nations, the
constant tide of emigration to the west, the wide spreading ravages of the
cholera, and the joy of the Saints of God as they come out of Babylon,
alarm the world, and whisper to every mortal; Watch ye, for the time is at
hand for the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of Israel, with
peace on earth and good will to man. Watch the signs of His coming, that
ye be not deceived.
ITEMS FOR THE PUBLIC.
In connection with the Star, we publish a weekly paper, entitled the
Upper Missouri Advertiser. It will contain sketches of the news of the
day, politics, advertisements, and whatever tends to promote the interest
of the great West.
The August number of the Star, [no. 3] contained the following:
THE CHOLERA.
This desolating sickness is spreading steadily over the United
States. The account of its ravages in many places we cannot give. The
whole number of cases in New York, to July 31st, is 3,731. Deaths, 1,520.
No man can stop the work of the Lord, for God rules the pestilence,
and the pestilence rules men. Forts, sentinels, and oceans may hinder men,
or money may bribe, but when the pestilence rides on the wings of the
wind, the sentinel has no power; the fort is no obstacle, the ocean is no
barrier, and money has no value, the destroying angel goes waving the
banner of death over all; and who shall escape his pointed arrow? Not he
that could brave death at the cannon's mouth, but shrinks at the sound of
the cholera; not he that worshiped his God in some stately chapel, every
Sabbath till the cholera comes, and then flees for his life; no, none but
he that trusts in God, shall be able to Stand when a thousand shall fall
at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand by the noisome pestilence.
TO THE HONORABLE MEN OF THE WORLD.
To the honorable searchers for truth: we, in a spirit of candor and
meekness are bound by every tie that makes man the friend of man, by every
endowment of heaven, that renders intelligent beings seekers of happiness
to show you the way to salvation. In fact, we are not only bound to do
thus for those that seek the riches of eternity, but, to walk in the
tracks of our Savior, we must love our enemies; bless them that curse us;
do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us,
and persecute us, or else you and the world may know that we are not the
children of God. Therefore to be obedient to the precepts of our divine
Master, we say unto you--Search the Scriptures--search the revelations
which we publish, and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son
Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye
single to His glory, nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of
His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another.
You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will
there be any room for speculation. No; for when men receive their
instruction from Him that made them, they know how he will save them. Then
again we say: Search the Scriptures, search the Prophets, and learn what
portion of them belongs to you and the people of the nineteenth century.
You, no doubt, will agree with us, and say that you have no right to claim
the promises of the inhabitants before the flood; that you cannot found
your hopes of salvation upon the obedience of the children of Israel when
journeying in the wilderness; nor can you expect that the blessings which
the Apostles pronounced upon the churches of Christ, eighteen hundred
years ago, were intended for you. Again, if others' blessings are not your
blessings, others' curses are not your curses; you stand then in these
last days, as all have stood before you, agents unto yourselves, to be
judged according to your works.
Every man lives for himself. Adam was made to open the ways of the
world and for dressing the garden. Noah was born to save seed of
everything, when the earth was washed of its wickedness by the flood; and
the Son of God came into the world to redeem it from the fall. But except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. This eternal truth
settles the question of all men's religion. A man may be saved, after the
judgment, in the terrestrial kingdom or in the telestial kingdom but he
can never see the celestial kingdom of God without being born of the water
and the Spirit. He may receive a glory like unto the moon [i.e. of which
the light of the moon is typical], or a star [i.e. of which the light of
the stars is typical], but he can never come unto Mount Zion and unto the
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels; to the general assembly and Church of the First-born,
which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new
covenant, unless he becomes as a little child, and is taught by the Spirit
of God. Wherefore, we again say search the revelations of God; study the
prophecies, and rejoice that God grants unto the world Seers and Prophets.
They are they who saw the mysteries of godliness; they saw the flood
before it came; they saw angels ascending and descending upon a ladder
that reached from earth to heaven; they saw the stone cut out of the
mountain, which filled the whole earth, they saw the Son of God come from
the regions of bliss and dwell with men on earth; they saw the deliverer
come out of Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob; they saw the glory
of the Lord when He showed the transfiguration of the earth on the mount;
they saw every mountain laid low and every valley exalted when the Lord
was taking vengeance upon the wicked; they saw truth spring out of the
earth, and righteousness look down from heaven in the last days before the
Lord came the second time to gather His elect; they saw the end of
wickedness on earth, and the Sabbath of creation crowned with peace; they
saw the end of the glorious thousand years, when Satan was loosed for a
little season, they saw the day of judgment when all men received
according to their works, and they saw the heaven and earth flee away to
make room for the city of God, when the righteous receive an inheritance
in eternity. And, fellow sojourners upon earth it is your privilege to
purify yourselves and come up to the same glory, and see for yourselves,
and know for yourselves. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
CHAPTER XXI.
LARGER VIEWS ON THE DOCTRINE OF PRIESTHOOD REVEALED--THE MEETING OF THE
PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH, JUN., BRIGHAM YOUNG, AND HEBER C. KIMBALL.
ON September the 10th, George A. Smith was baptized by Joseph H.
Wakefield, at Potsdam, St. Lawrence county, New York; and confirmed by
Elder Solomon Humphry.
The Elders during the month of September began to return from their
missions to the Eastern States, and present the histories of their several
stewardships in the Lord's vineyard; and while together in these seasons
of joy, I inquired of the Lord, and received on the 22nd and 23rd of
September, the following revelation on Priesthood:
Revelation.
1. A revelation of Jesus Christ unto his servant Joseph Smith,
Jun., and six elders, as they united their hearts and lifted their voices
on high.
2. Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in
the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the
mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon
Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem.
3. Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot which is
appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the
State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and
others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
4. Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem
shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place,
even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this
generation.
5. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house
shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud
shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.
6. And the sons of Moses, according to the Holy Priesthood which he
received under the hand of his father-in-law, Jethro;
7. And Jethro received it under the hand of Caleb;
8. And Caleb received it under the hand of Elihu;
9. And Elihu under the hand of Jeremy;
10. And Jeremy under the hand of Gad;
11. And Gad under the hand of Esaias;
12. And Esaias received it under the hand of God.
13. Esaias also lived in the days of Abraham and was blessed of him--
14. Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who
received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah;
15. And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers:
16. And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his
brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the
hand of his father Adam, who was the first man--
17. Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all
generations and is without beginning of days or end of years.
18. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed,
throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and
abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of
God.
19. And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth
the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of
God.
20. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is
manifest.
21. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the
priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22. For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father,
and live.
23. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the
wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might
behold the face of God;
24. But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence;
therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them,
swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness,
which rest is the fullness of his glory.
25. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy
Priesthood also;
26. And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the
key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel;
27. Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the
remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in
his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of
Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost
from his mother's womb.
28. For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was
ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this
power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way
of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming
of the Lord in whose hand is given all power.
29. And again, the offices of elder and bishop are necessary
appendages belonging unto the high priesthood.
30. And again, the offices of teacher and deacon are necessary
appendages belonging to the lesser priesthood, which priesthood was
confirmed upon Aaron and his sons.
31. Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses--for the sons
of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and
sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the
Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed--
32. And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory
of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house, whose sons are ye; and
also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church.
33. For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of
which I have spoken and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by
the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
34. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of
Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.
35. And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith
the Lord;
36. For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37. And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38. And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom;
therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
39. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to
the priesthood.
40. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this
oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be
moved.
41. But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and
altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this
world nor in the world to come.
42. And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye
have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by
mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly
hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.
43. And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning
yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
44. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the
mouth of God.
45. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is
light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the
world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that
hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
47. And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh
unto God, even the Father.
48. And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed
and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and
not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world.
49. And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and
under the bondage of sin.
50. And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin,
because they come not unto me.
51. For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
52. And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice,
and is not of me.
53. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that
the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.
54. And your minds in times past have been darkened because of
unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have
received--
55. Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under
condemnation.
56. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even
all.
57. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent
and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former
commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according
to that which I have written--
58. That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom,
otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the
children of Zion.
59. For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land?
Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
60. Verily, verily, I say unto you who now hear my words, which are
my voice, blessed are ye inasmuch as you receive these things;
61. For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment--that
you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer,
in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are
communicated unto you.
62. Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye
cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the
world unto every creature.
63. And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you
are mine apostles, even God's high priests; ye are they whom my Father
hath given me; ye are my friends;
64. Therefore, as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again,
that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for
the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost.
65. And these signs shall follow them that believe--
66. In my name they shall do many wonderful works;
67. In my name they shall cast out devils;
68. In my name they shall heal the sick;
69. In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind and unstop the
ears of the deaf;
70. And the tongue of the dumb shall speak;
71. And if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not
hurt them;
72. And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them.
73. But a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast
themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world; for these
things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation.
74. Verily, verily I say unto you, they who believe not on your words
and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins,
that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come
into my Father's kingdom where my Father and I am.
75. And this revelation unto you, and commandment, is in force from
this very hour upon all the world, and the gospel is unto all who have not
received it.
76. But, verily I say unto all those to whom the kingdom has been
given--from you it must be preached unto them, that they shall repent of
their former evil works, for they are to be upbraided for their evil
hearts of unbelief, and your brethren in Zion for their rebellion against
you at the time I sent you.
77. And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall
call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment,
that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling
to preach the gospel in my power;
78. For I suffered them not to have purse or scrip, neither two
coats.
79. Behold, I send you out to prove the world, and the laborer is
worthy of his hire.
80. And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom
and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in
mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of
his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go
hungry, neither athirst.
81. Therefore, take ye no thought for the morrow, for what ye shall
eat or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.
82. For, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil
not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their
glory, are not arrayed like one of these.
83. For your Father, who is in heaven, knoweth that you have need of
all these things.
84. Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself.
85. Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but
treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be
given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every
man.
86. Therefore, let no man among you, for this commandment is unto all
the faithful who are called of God in the church unto the ministry, from
this hour take purse or scrip, that goeth forth to proclaim this gospel of
the kingdom.
87. Behold, I send you out to reprove the world of all their
unrighteous deeds, and to teach them of a judgment which is to come.
88. And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go
before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my
Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear
you up.
89. Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you, and
clothe you, and give you money.
90. And he who feeds you, or clothes you, or gives you money, shall
in nowise lose his reward.
91. And he that doeth not these things is not my disciple; by this
you may know my disciples.
92. He that receiveth you not, go away from him alone by yourselves,
and cleanse your feet even with water, pure water, whether in heat or in
cold, and bear testimony of it unto your Father which is in heaven, and
return not again unto that man.
93. And in whatsoever village or city ye enter, do likewise.
94. Nevertheless, search diligently and spare not; and wo unto that
house, or that village or city that rejecteth you, or your words, or your
testimony concerning me.
95. Wo, I say again, unto that house, or that village or city that
rejecteth you, or your words, or your testimony of me;
96. For I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to
scourge them for their wickedness.
97. And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the
earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in
righteousness--
98. Until all shall know me, who remain even from the least unto the
greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall
see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together
sing this new song, saying;
99. The Lord hath brought again Zion;
The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel,
According to the election of grace,
which was brought to pass by the faith
And covenant of their fathers.
100. The Lord hath redeemed his people:
And Satan is bound and time is no longer.
The Lord hath gathered all things in one.
The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.
The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.
101. The earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength;
And truth is established in her bowels;
And the heavens have smiled upon her;
And she is clothed with the glory of her God;
For he stands in the midst of his people.
102. Glory, and honor, and power, and might,
Be ascribed to our God; for he is full of mercy,
Justice, grace and truth, and peace,
Forever and ever, Amen.
103. And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, it is expedient that
every man who goes forth to proclaim mine everlasting gospel, that
inasmuch as they have families, and receive money by gift, that they
should send it unto them or make use of it for their benefit, as the Lord
shall direct them, for thus it seemeth me good.
104. And let all those who have not families, who receive money, send
it up unto the bishop in Zion, or unto the bishop in Ohio, that it may be
consecrated for the bringing forth of the revelations and the printing
thereof, and for establishing Zion.
105. And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit,
take the old and cast it unto the poor, and go on your way rejoicing.
106. And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take
with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he
may become strong also.
107. Therefore, take with you those who are ordained unto the lesser
priesthood, and send them before you to make appointments, and to prepare
the way, and to fill appointments that you yourselves are not able to
fill.
108. Behold, this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days,
built up my church unto me.
109. Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in
his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of
the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?
110. Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified
together, that the system may be kept perfect.
111. And behold, the high priests should travel, and also the elders
and also the lesser priests; but the deacons and teachers should be
appointed to watch over the church, to be standing ministers unto the
church.
112. And the bishop Newel K. Whitney, also should travel round about
and among all the churches, searching after the poor to administer to
their wants by humbling the rich and the proud.
113. He should also employ an agent to take charge and to do his
secular business as he shall direct.
114. Nevertheless, let the bishop go unto the city of New York, also
to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people
of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice, of the
desolation and utter abolishment which await them if they do reject these
things.
115. For if they do reject these things the hour of their judgment is
nigh, and their house shall be left unto them desolate.
116. Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded; and a hair
of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.
117. And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth
as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the
great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in
righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth
clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last
days.
118. For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their
kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall
tremble.
119. For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of
heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and
know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people.
120. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Amen.
I continued the translation of the Bible and ministering to the
Church, through the fall, excepting a hurried journey to Albany, New York
and Boston, in company with Bishop Whitney, from which I returned on the
6th of November, immediately after the birth of my son Joseph Smith, the
third.
About the 8th of November I received a visit from Elders Joseph
Young, Brigham Young, and Heber
C. Kimball of Mendon, Monroe county, New York. They spent four or
five days at Kirtland, during which we had many interesting moments. At
one of our interviews, Brother Brigham Young and John P. Greene spoke in
tongues, which was the first time I had heard this gift among the
brethren; others also spoke, and I received the gift myself.
In answer to letters received from the brethren in Missouri, I wrote
as follows:
KIRTLAND, Nov. 27th, 1832. BROTHER WILLIAM W. PHELPS:--I say brother,
because I feel so from the heart, and although it is not long since I
wrote a letter unto you, yet I feel as though you would excuse me for
writing this, as I have many things which I wish to communicate. Some
things which I will mention in this letter, which are lying with great
weight on my mind. I am well, and my family also; God grant that you may
enjoy the same, and yours, and all the brethren and sisters who remember
to inquire after the commandments of the Lord, and the welfare of Zion and
such a being as myself; and while I dictate this letter, I fancy to myself
that you are saying or thinking something similar to these words:--"My
God, great and mighty art Thou, therefore show unto Thy servant what shall
become of those who are essaying to come up unto Zion, in order to keep
the commandments of God, and yet receive not their inheritance by
consecrations, by order of deed from the Bishop, the man that God has
appointed in a legal way, agreeably to the law given to organize and
regulate the Church, and all the affairs of the same."
Brother William, in the love of God, having the most implicit
confidence in you as a man of God, having obtained this confidence by a
vision of heaven, therefore I will proceed to unfold to you some of the
feelings of my heart, and to answer the question.
Firstly, it is the duty of the Lord's clerk, whom He has appointed,
to keep a history, and a General Church Record of all things that
transpire in Zion, and of all those who consecrate properties and receive
inheritances legally from the Bishop; and also their manner of life, their
faith, and works and also of the apostates who apostatize after receiving
their inheritances. It is contrary to the will and commandment of God,
that those who receive not their inheritance by consecration, agreeably to
His law, which he has given, that He may tithe His people, to prepare them
against the day of vengeance and burning should have their names enrolled
with the people of God; neither is their genealogy to be kept, or to be
had where it may be found on any of the records or history of the Church;
their names shall not be found neither the names of the fathers, nor the
names of the children written in the book of the law of God, saith the
Lord of hosts. Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth
through and pierceth all things, and oftentimes it maketh my bones to
quake while it maketh manifest, saying: and it shall come to pass, that I,
the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the sceptre of
power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall
utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth,
to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances
of the Saints, whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and
of their children enrolled in the book of the law of God: while that man,
who was called of God, and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to
steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree
that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning; and all they who are not
found written in the book of remembrance shall find none inheritance in
that day but they shall be cut asunder, and their portion shall be
appointed them among unbelievers, where are wailing and gnashing of teeth.
These things I say not of myself; therefore, as the Lord speaketh, He will
also fulfil. And they who are of the High Priesthood, whose names are not
found written in the book of the law, or that are found to have
apostatized, or to have been cut off from the Church; as well as the
lesser Priesthood, or the members, in that day, shall not find an
inheritance among the Saints of the Most High; therefore it shall be done
unto them as unto the children of the priest, as will be found recorded in
the second chapter, and sixty-first and sixty-second verses of Ezra.
Now, Brother William, if what I have said is true, how careful men
ought to be what they do in the last days, lest they are cut short of
their expectations, and they that think they stand should fall, because
they keep not the Lord's commandments; whilst you, who do the will of the
Lord and keep His commandments, have need to rejoice with unspeakable joy,
for such shall be exalted very high, and shall be lifted up in triumph
above all the kingdoms of this world; but I must drop this subject at the
beginning [of it].
Oh, Lord, when will the time come when Brother William, Thy servant,
and myself, shall behold the day that we may stand together and gaze upon
eternal wisdom engraven upon the heavens, while the majesty of our God
holdeth up the dark curtain until we may read the round of eternity, to
the fullness and satisfaction of our immortal souls? Oh, Lord, deliver us
in due time from the little, narrow prison, almost as it were, total
darkness of paper, pen and ink;--and a crooked, broken, scattered and
imperfect language.
I have obtained ten subscribers for the Star. Love for all the
brethren. Yours in bonds. Amen. JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
On the 6th of December, 1832, I received the following revelation
explaining the parable of the wheat and tares:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the
parable of the wheat and of the tares;
2. Behold, verily I say, the field was the world, and the apostles
were the sowers of the seed;
3. And after they have fallen asleep, the great persecutor of the
church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to
drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to
reign--behold he soweth the tares; wherefore, the tares choke the wheat
and drive the church into the wilderness.
4. But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning
to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender--
5. Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord
day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the
fields;
6. But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the
blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the
wheat also.
7. Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the
harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among
the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares
are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned.
8. Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood
hath continued through the lineage of your fathers--
9. For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid
from the world with Christ in God--
10. Therefore, your life and the priesthood have remained, and must
needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all
things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world
began.
11. Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light
unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people
Israel. The Lord hath said it. Amen.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE PROPHECY ON THE WAR OF THE REBELLION--THE OLIVE LEAF--
COMMUNICATION TO MR. SEATON--WARNING TO ZION.
APPEARANCES of troubles among the nations became more visible this
season than they had previously been since the Church began her journey
out of the wilderness. The ravages of the cholera were frightful in almost
all the large cities on the globe. The plague broke out in India, while
the United States, amid all her pomp and greatness, was threatened with
immediate dissolution. The people of South Carolina, in convention
assembled (in November), passed ordinances, declaring their state a free
and independent nation; and appointed Thursday, the 31st day of January,
1833, as a day of humiliation and prayer, to implore Almighty God to
vouchsafe His blessings, and restore liberty and happiness within their
borders. President Jackson issued his proclamation against this rebellion,
called out a force sufficient to quell it, and implored the blessings of
God to assist the nation to extricate itself from the horrors of the
approaching and solemn crisis.
On Christmas day [1832], I received the following revelation and
prophecy on war.
Revelation and Prophecy.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will
shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which
will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls;
2. And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all
nations, beginning at this place.
3. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the
Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even
the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call
upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations;
and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
4. And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up
against their masters, who shall be marshaled and discipled for war.
5. And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of
the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and
shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation.
6. And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the
earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the
thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the
inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and
chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath
made a full end of all nations;
7. That the cry of the saints, and the blood of the saints, shall
cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth, to
be avenged of their enemies.
8. Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the
day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
Two days after the preceding prophecy, on the 27th of December, I
received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you who have assembled
yourselves together to receive his will concerning you:
2. Behold, this is pleasing unto your Lord, and the angels rejoice
over you; the alms of your prayer have come up into the ears of the Lord
of Sabaoth, and are recorded in the book of the names of the sanctified,
even them of the celestial world.
3. Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my
friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of
promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my
disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John.
4. This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal
life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;
5. Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God,
the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son--
6. He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all
things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and
through all things, the light of truth;
7. Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in
the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was
made.
8. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the
power thereof by which it was made;
9. As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which
they were made;
10. And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon
which you stand.
11. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through
him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth
your understandings;
12. Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the
immensity of space--
13. The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all
things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power
of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who
is in the midst of all things.
14. Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is
made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead.
15. And the spirit and the body are the soul of man.
16. And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul.
17. And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all
things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the
earth shall inherit it.
18. Therefore it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness,
that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;
19. For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be
crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
20. That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it
forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for
this intent are they sanctified.
21. And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have
given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even
that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
22. For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom
cannot abide a celestial glory.
23. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot
abide a terrestrial glory.
24. And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot
abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory.
Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
25. And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a
celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and
transgresseth not the law--
26. Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall
die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is
quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.
27. For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a
spiritual body.
28. They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body
which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your
glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
29. Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall
then receive of the same, even a fullness.
30. And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory
shall then receive of the same, even a fullness.
31. And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial
glory shall then receive of the same, even a fullness.
32. And they who remain shall also be quickened, nevertheless, they
shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are
willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they
might have received.
33. For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and
he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given
unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.
34. And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law
is also preserved law and perfected and sanctified by the same.
35. That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to
become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether
abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice,
nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.
36. All kingdoms have a law given;
37. And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which
there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space,
either a greater or a lesser kingdom.
38. And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there
are certain bounds also and conditions
39. All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified.
40. For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth
wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto
light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice
continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face
of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.
41. He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and
all things are round about him, and he is above all things, and in all
things, and is through all things and is round about all things; and all
things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever.
42. And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all
things, by which they move in their times and their seasons,
43. And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and
the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets.
44. And they give light to each other in their times and in their
seasons, in their minutes in their hours in their days, in their weeks, in
their months, in their years--all these are one year with God, but not
with man.
45. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by
day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their
light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the
power of God.
46. Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand?
47. Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or
the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.
48. I say unto you, he hath seen him; nevertheless, he who came unto
his own was not comprehended.
49. The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it
not; nevertheless the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God,
being quickened in him and by him.
50. Then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am, and that I am
the true light that is in you, and that you are in me, otherwise ye could
not abound.
51. Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field,
and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
52. And he said unto the first; Go ye and labor in the field and in
the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my
countenance.
53. And he said unto the second; Go ye also into the field, and in
the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
54. And also unto the third, saying; I will visit you;
55. And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
56. And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour,
and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of
the countenance of his lord.
57. And then he withdrew from the first that he might visit the
second also, and the third, and the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
58. And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their
lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season--
59. Beginning at the first, and so on unto the last, and from the
last unto the first, and from the first unto the last,
60. Every man in his own order, until his hour was finished, even
according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified
in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified.
61. Therefore unto this parable I will liken all these kingdoms, and
the inhabitants thereof--every kingdom in its hour, and in its time, and
in its season, even according to the decree which God hath made.
62. And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these
sayings with you to ponder in your hearts with this commandment which I
give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near--
63. Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me
diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock and it
shall be opened unto you.
64. Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto
you, that is expedient for you:
65. And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall
turn unto your condemnation.
66. Behold that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the
wilderness--in the wilderness, because you cannot see him--my voice,
because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no
end, and if it be in you it shall abound.
67. And if your eye be single to my glory your whole bodies shall be
filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body
which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
68. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to
God and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his
face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and
according to his own will.
69. Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you,
cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you.
70. Tarry ye, tarry ye in this place, and call a solemn assembly,
even of those who are the first laborers in this last kingdom.
71. And let those whom they have warned in their traveling call on
the Lord, and ponder the warning in their hearts which they have received,
for a little season.
72. Behold, and lo, I will take care of your flocks, and will raise
up elders and send unto them.
73. Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.
74. And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last
kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize
yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify
your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may
make you clean;
75. That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God,
that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation, that I may
fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto
you, when I will.
76. Also, I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in
prayer and fasting from this time forth.
77. And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one
another the doctrine of the kingdom.
78. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may
be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the
law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God that
are expedient for you to understand.
79. Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth;
things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come
to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and
the perplexities of the nations and the judgments which are on the land;
and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms--
80. That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again
to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with
which I have commissioned you.
81. Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it
becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
82. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon
their own heads.
83. He that seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be
forsaken.
84. Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that you may be
perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last
time as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and
seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment
which is to come;
85. That their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of
abomination which awaits the wicked, both in this world and in the world
to come. Verily, I say unto you, let those who are not the first elders
continue in the vineyard until the mouth of the Lord shall call them, for
their time is not yet come; their garments are not clean from the blood of
this generation.
86. Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free, entangle not
yourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean, until the Lord comes.
87. For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to
and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall
refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars
shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig
that falleth from off a fig-tree.
88. And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the
people. *
89. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes,
that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon
the ground and shall not be able to stand.
90. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and
the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the
waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.
91. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts
shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.
92. And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven crying with a
loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying; Prepare ye, prepare ye, O
inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and
lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
93. And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and
all people shall see it together.
94. And another angel shall sound his trump, saying: That great
church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication, that persecuteth the saints of God,
that shed their blood--he who sitteth upon many waters, and upon the
islands of the sea--behold, she is the tares of the earth; she is bound in
bundles, her bands are made strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she
is ready to be burned. And he shall sound his trump both long and loud,
and all nations shall hear it.
95. And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an
hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a
scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall
be unveiled;
96. And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be
quickened and be caught up to meet him.
97. And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for
their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him
in the midst of the pillar of heaven--
98. They are Christ's, the first fruits, they who shall descend with
him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are
first caught up to meet him; and all this by the voice of the sounding of
the trump of the angel of God.
99. And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second
trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at his
coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for
them, that they might receive the gospel, and be judged according to men
in the flesh.
100. And again, another trump shall sound, which is the third trump;
and then come the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under
condemnation;
101. And these are the rest of the dead and they live not again until
the thousand years are ended neither again, until the end of the earth.
102. And another trump shall sound, which is the fourth trump, saying
there are found among those who are to remain until that great and last
day, even the end, who shall remain filthy still.
103. And another trump shall sound, which is the fifth trump, which
is the fifth angel who committeth the everlasting gospel--flying through
the midst of heaven, unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people;
104. And this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to all people
both in heaven and in earth, and that are under the earth--for every ear
shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess,
while they hear the sound of the trump, saying; Fear God, and give glory
to him who sitteth upon the throne, forever and ever, for the hour of his
judgment is come.
105. And again, another angel shall sound his trump, which is the
sixth angel, saying; She is fallen who made all nations drink of the wine
of the wrath of her fornication; she is fallen, is fallen!
106. And again, another angel shall sound his trump, which is the
seventh angel, saying: It is finished; it is finished! The Lamb of God
hath overcome and trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the
fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.
107. And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his
might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their
inheritance and be made equal with him.
108. And then shall the first angel again sound his trump in the ears
of all living, and reveal the secret acts of men, and the mighty works of
God in the first thousand years.
109. And then shall the second angel sound his trump, and reveal the
secret acts of men, and the thoughts and intents of their hearts, and the
mighty works of God in the second thousand years--
110. And so on, until the seventh angel shall sound his trump; and he
shall stand forth upon the land and upon the sea, and swear in the name of
him who sitteth upon the throne, that there shall be time no longer; and
Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall
not be loosed for the space of a thousand years.
111. And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may
gather together his armies.
112. And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather
together his armies, even the hosts of heaven.
113. And the devil shall gather together his armies even the hosts of
hell, and shall come up to battle against Michael and his armies.
114. And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and
his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not
have power over the saints any more at all.
115. For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him
who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb.
116. This is the glory of God, and the sanctified, and they shall not
any more see death.
117. Therefore, verily I say unto you, my friends, call your solemn
assembly, as I have commanded you.
118. And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one
another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of
wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
119. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish
a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a
house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;
120. That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your
outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be
in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High.
121. Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all
laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and
light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings.
122. Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen
at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings,
that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every
man may have an equal privilege.
123. See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to
impart one to another as the gospel requires.
124. Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one
with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed
early, that ye may not be weary; rise early, that your bodies and your
minds may be invigorated.
125. And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of
charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.
126. Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come, Behold, and
lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself. Amen.
127. And again, the order of the house prepared for the presidency of
the school of the prophets, established for their instruction in all
things that are expedient for them, even for all the officers of the
church or in other words those who are called to the ministry in the
church, beginning at the high priests even down to the deacons--
128. And this shall be the order of the house of the presidency of
the school: He that is appointed to be president, or teacher, shall be
found standing in his place in the house which shall be prepared for him.
129. Therefore, he shall be first in the house of God, in a place
that the congregation in the house may hear his words carefully and
distinctly, not with loud speech.
130. And when he cometh into the house of God, for he should be first
in the house--behold, this is beautiful, that he may be an example--
131. Let him offer himself in prayer upon his knees before God, in
token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant.
132. And when any shall come in after him, let the teacher arise,
and, with uplifted hands to heaven, yea even directly, salute his brother
or brethren with these words;
133. Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant in
which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is
fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through
the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of
God blameless in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen.
134. And he that is found unworthy of this salutation shall not have
place among you; for ye shall not suffer that mine house shall be polluted
by him.
135. And he that cometh in and is faithful before me and is a
brother, or if they be brethren, they shall salute the president or
teacher with uplifted hands to heaven, with this same prayer and covenant,
or by saying Amen, in token of the same.
136. Behold, verily, I say unto you, this is an ensample unto you for
a salutation to one another in the house of God, in the school of the
prophets.
137. And ye are called to do this by prayer and thanksgiving as the
Spirit shall give utterance in all your doings in the house of the Lord,
in the school of the prophets, that it may become a sanctuary, a
tabernacle of the Holy Spirit to your edification.
138. And ye shall not receive any among you into this school save he
is clean from the blood of this generation;
139. And he shall be received by the ordinance of the washing of
feet, for unto this end was the ordinance of the washing of feet
instituted.
140. And again, the ordinance of washing feet is to be administered
by the president, or presiding elder of the church.
141. It is to be commenced with prayer; and after partaking of bread
and wine, he is to gird himself according to the pattern given in the
thirteenth chapter of John's testimony concerning me. Amen.
I wrote to N. E. Seaton, Esq., editor of the--, as follows:
KIRTLAND, January 4th, 1833.
Mr. Editor:--Sir, Considering the liberal principles upon which your
interesting and valuable paper is published, myself being a subscriber,
and feeling a deep interest in the cause of Zion, and in the happiness of
my brethren of mankind, I cheerfully take up my pen to contribute my mite
at this very interesting and important period.
For some length of time I have been carefully reviewing the state of
things, as it now appears, throughout our Christian land; and have looked
at it with feelings of the most painful anxiety. While upon one hand I
behold the manifest withdrawal of God's Holy Spirit, and the veil of
stupidity which seems to be drawn over the hearts of the people; upon the
other hand, I behold the judgments of God that have swept, and are still
sweeping, hundreds and thousands of our race (and I fear unprepared) down
to the shades of death. With this solemn and alarming fact before me, I am
led to exclaim, "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of
tears, that I might weep day and night."
I think that it is high time for a Christian world to awake out of
sleep, and cry mightily to that God, day and night, whose anger we have
justly incurred. Are not these things a sufficient stimulant to arouse the
faculties and call forth the energies of every man, woman or child that
possesses feelings of sympathy for their fellows, or that is in any degree
endeared to the budding cause of our glorious Lord? I leave an intelligent
community to answer this important question, with a confession, that this
is what has caused me to overlook my own inability, and expose my weakness
to a learned world, but, trusting in that God who has said that these
things are hid from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes, I step
forth into the field to tell you what the Lord is doing, and what you must
do, to enjoy the smiles of your Savior in these last days.
The time has at last arrived when the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Jacob, has set His hand again the second time to recover the remnants
of his people, which have been left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from
Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam and from Shinar, and from Hamath,
and from the islands of the sea, and with them to bring in the fullness of
the Gentiles, and establish that covenant with them, which was promised
when their sins should be taken away. See Isaiah xi, Romans xi: 25, 26
and 27, and also Jeremiah xxxi: 31, 32 and 33. This covenant has never
been established with the house of Israel, nor with the house of Judah,
for it requires two parties to make a covenant, and those two parties must
be agreed, or no covenant can be made.
Christ, in the days of His flesh, proposed to make a covenant with
them, but they rejected Him and His proposals, and in consequence thereof,
they were broken off, and no covenant was made with them at that time. But
their unbelief has not rendered the promise of God of none effect; no, for
there was another day limited in David, which was the day of His power;
and then His people, Israel, should be a willing people;--and He would
write His law in their hearts, and print it in their thoughts; their sins
and their iniquities He would remember no more.
Thus after this chosen family had rejected Christ and His proposals,
the heralds of salvation said to them, "Lo, we turn unto the Gentiles;"
and the Gentiles received the covenant, and were grafted in from whence
the chosen family were broken off: but the Gentiles have not continued in
the goodness of God, but have departed from the faith that was once
delivered to the Saints, and have broken the covenant in which their
fathers were established (See Isaiah xxiv: 5); and have become
high-minded, and have not feared; therefore, but few of them will be
gathered with the chosen family. Have not the pride, high-mindedness, and
unbelief of the Gentiles, provoked the Holy One of Israel to withdraw His
Holy Spirit from them, and send forth His judgments to scourge them for
their wickedness? This is certainly the case.
Christ said to His disciples (Mark xvi; 17 and 18), that these signs
should follow them that believe;--"In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents and if they
drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover;" and also, in connection with this, read 1st
Corinthians, 12th chapter. By the foregoing testimonies we may look at the
Christian world and see the apostasy there has been from the apostolic
platform, and who can look at this and not exclaim in the language of
Isaiah, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the
everlasting covenant?"
The plain fact is this, the power of God begins to fall upon the
nations, and the light of the latter-day glory begins to break forth
through the dark atmosphere of sectarian wickedness, and their iniquity
rolls up into view, and the nations of the Gentiles are like the waves of
the sea, casting up mire and dirt, or all in commotion, and they are
hastily preparing to act the part allotted them, when the Lord rebukes the
nations, when He shall rule them with a rod of iron, and break them in
pieces like a potter's vessel. The Lord declared to His servants, some
eighteen months since, that He was then withdrawing His Spirit from the
earth and we can see that such is the fact for not only the churches are
dwindling away, but there are no conversions, or but very few; and this is
not all, the governments of the earth are thrown into confusion and
division; and Destruction, to the eye of the spiritual beholder, seems to
be written by the finger of an invisible hand, in large capitals, upon
almost every thing we behold.
And now what remains to be done, under circumstances like these? I
will proceed to tell you what the Lord requires of all people, high and
low, rich and poor, male and female ministers and people, professors of
religion and non-professors, in order that they may enjoy the Holy Spirit
of God to a fullness and escape the judgments of God, which are almost
ready to burst upon the nations of the earth. Repent of all your sins, and
be baptized in water for the remission of them, in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and receive the ordinance of the
laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power,
that ye may receive the Holy Spirit of God; and this is according to the
Holy Scriptures, and the Book of Mormon; and the only way that man can
enter into the celestial kingdom.
These are the requirements of the new covenant, or first principles
of the Gospel of Christ; then "Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue,
knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience: and
to patience godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness, charity for love; for if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful, in
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western
tribes of Indians; having been found through the ministration of an holy
angel, and translated into our own language by the gift and power of God,
after having been hid up in the earth for the last fourteen hundred years,
containing the word of God which was delivered unto them. By it we learn
that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph which
was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a promised land unto
them, and unto it all the tribes of Israel will come with as many of the
Gentiles as shall comply with the requisitions of the new covenant. But
the tribe of Judah will return to old Jerusalem. The city of Zion spoken
of by David, in the one hundred and second Psalm, will be built upon the
land of America, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads" (Isaiah xxxv: 10);
and then they will be delivered from the overflowing scourge that shall
pass through the land. But Judah shall obtain deliverance at Jerusalem.
See Joel ii:32; Isaiah xxvi: 20 and 21; Jeremiah xxxi: 12, Psalm 1:5;
Ezekiel xxxiv: 11, 12 and 13. These are testimonies that the Good Shepherd
will put forth His own sheep, and lead them out from all nations where
they have been scattered in a cloudy and dark day, to Zion and to
Jerusalem, besides many more testimonies which might be brought.
And now I am prepared to say by the authority of Jesus Christ, that
not many years shall pass away before the United States shall present such
a scene of bloodshed as has not a parallel in the history of our nation;
pestilence, hail, famine, and earthquake will sweep the wicked of this
generation from off the face of the land, to open and prepare the way for
the return of the lost tribes of Israel from the north country. The people
of the Lord, those who have complied with the requirements of the new
covenant, have already commenced gathering together to Zion, which is in
the state of Missouri, therefore I declare unto you the warning which the
Lord has commanded to declare unto this generation, remembering that the
eyes of my Maker are upon me and that to him I am accountable for every
word I say wishing nothing worse to my fellow-men than their eternal
salvation; therefore, "Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of
His judgment is come." Repent ye, repent ye, and embrace the everlasting
covenant, and flee to Zion, before the overflowing scourge overtake you,
for there are those now living upon the earth whose eyes shall not be
closed in death until they see all these things, which I have spoken,
fulfilled. Remember these things; call upon the Lord while He is near, and
seek Him while He may be found, is the exhortation of your unworthy
servant. [Signed] JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BRETHREN IN ZION KIRTLAND.
January 14, 1833.
Brother William W. Phelps: I send you the "olive leaf" which we have
plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord's message of peace to us, for
though our brethren in Zion indulge in feelings towards us, which are not
according to the requirements of the new covenant, yet, we have the
satisfaction of knowing that the Lord approves of us, and has accepted us
and established His name in Kirtland for the salvation of the nations; for
the Lord will have a place whence His word will go forth, in these last
days, in purity; for if Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved
of in all things in His sight, He will seek another people, for His work
will go on until Israel is gathered, and they who will not hear His voice,
must expect to feel His wrath. Let me say unto you, seek to purify
yourselves, and also all the inhabitants of Zion, lest the Lord's anger be
kindled to fierceness. Repent, repent, is the voice of God to Zion; and
strange as it may appear, yet it is true, mankind will persist in
self-justification until all their iniquity is exposed, and their
character past being redeemed, and that which is treasured up in their
hearts be exposed to the gaze of mankind. I say to you (and what I say to
you I say to all) hear the warning voice of God, lest Zion fall, and the
Lord sware in His wrath the inhabitants of Zion shall not enter into His
rest.
The brethren in Kirtland pray for you unceasingly, for knowing the
terrors of the Lord, they greatly fear for you. You will see that the Lord
commanded us, in Kirtland, to build a house of God, and establish a school
for the Prophets, this is the word of the Lord to us and we must, yea,
the Lord helping us, we will obey; as on conditions of our obedience He
has promised us great things, yea, even a visit from the heavens to honor
us with His own presence. We greatly fear before the Lord lest we should
fail of this great honor, which our
Master proposes to confer on us; we are seeking for humility and
great faith lest we be ashamed in His presence. Our hearts are greatly
grieved at the spirit which is breathed both in your letter and that of
Brother Gilbert's, the very spirit which is wasting the strength of Zion
like a pestilence; and if it is not detected and driven from you, it will
ripen Zion for the threatened judgments of God. Remember God sees the
secret springs of human action, and knows the hearts of all living.
Brother, suffer us to speak plainly, for God has respect to the feelings
of His Saints, and He will not suffer them to be tantalized with impunity.
Tell Brother Gilbert that low insinuations God hates; but He rejoices in
an honest heart, and knows better who is guilty than he does. We send him
this warning voice, and let him fear greatly for himself, lest a worse
thing overtake him; all we can say by way of conclusion is, if the
fountain of our tears be not dried up, we will still weep for Zion. This
from your brother who trembles for Zion, and for the wrath of heaven,
which awaits her if she repent not. [Signed] JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
P. S.--I am not in the habit of crying peace, when there is no peace;
and, knowing the threatened judgments of God I say, Wo unto them who are
at ease in Zion; fearfulness will speedily lay hold of the hypocrite. I
did not suspect you had lost the commandments, but thought from your
letters you had neglected to read them, otherwise you would not have
written as you did.
It is in vain to try to hide a bad spirit from the eyes of them who
are spiritual, for it will show itself in speaking and in writing, as well
as in all our other conduct. It is also needless to make great pretensions
when the heart is not right; the Lord will expose it to the view of His
faithful Saints. We wish you to render the Star as interesting as
possible, by setting forth the rise, progress, and faith of the Church, as
well as the doctrine; for if you do not render it more interesting than at
present, it will fall, and the Church suffer a great loss thereby.
[Signed] J. S. JUN.
KIRTLAND MILLS, GEAUGA CO., OHIO. January 14, 1833.
From a Conference of Twelve High Priests, to the Bishop, his Council
and the Inhabitants of Zion.
Orson Hyde, and Hyrum Smith being appointed by the said conference to
write this epistle in obedience to the commandment, given the 22nd and
23rd of September last, which says; "But verily I say unto all those to
whom the kingdom has been given--from you it must be preached unto them,
that they shall repent of their former evil works; for they are to be
upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, and your brethren in Zion for
their rebellion against you at the time I sent you."
Brother Joseph, and certain others, have written to you on this
all-important subject, but you have never been apprised of these things by
the united voice of the conference of those High Priests that were present
at the time this commandment was given.
We therefore, Orson and Hyrum, the committee appointed by said
conference to write this epistle, having received the prayers of said
conference, that we might be enabled to write the mind and will of God
upon this subject, now take up our pen to address you in the name of the
conference, relying upon the arm of the Great Head of the Church.
In the commandment above alluded to, the children of Zion were all,
yea, even every one, under condemnation, and were to remain in that state
until they repented and remembered the new covenant, even the Book of
Mormon, and the former commandments, which the Lord had given them, not
only to say, but to do them, and bring forth fruit meet for the Father's
kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and a judgment to be poured
out upon the children of Zion; for "shall the children of the kingdom
pollute my holy land? I say unto you, Nay."
The answers received from those letters, which have been sent to you
upon this subject, have failed to bring to us that satisfactory confession
and acknowledgment, which the spirit of our Master requires. We,
therefore, feeling a deep interest for Zion, and knowing the judgments of
God that will come upon her except she repent, resort to these last, and
most effectual means in our power, to bring her to a sense of her standing
before the Most High.
At the time Joseph, Sidney, and Newel left Zion, all matters of
hardness and misunderstanding were settled and buried (as they supposed),
and you gave them the hand of fellowship; but, afterwards, you brought up
all these things again, in a censorious spirit, accusing Brother Joseph in
rather an indirect way of seeking after monarchial power and authority.
This came to us in Brother Corrill's letter of June 2nd. We are sensible
that this is not the thing Brother Joseph is seeking after, but to magnify
the high office and calling whereunto he has been called and appointed by
the command of God, and the united voice of this Church. It might not be
amiss for you to call to mind the circumstances of the Nephites, and the
children of Israel rising up against their Prophets and accusing them of
seeking after kingly power, and see what befell them, and take warning
before it is too late.
Brother Gilbert's letter of December 10th, has been received and read
attentively, and the low, dark, and blind insinuations, which were in it,
were not received by us as from the fountain of light, though his claims
and pretensions to holiness were great. We are not unwilling to be
chastened or rebuked for our faults, but we want to receive it in language
that we can understand, as Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man." We
are aware that Brother Gilbert is doing much, and has a multitude of
business on hand; but let him purge out all the old leaven, and do his
business in the spirit of the Lord, and then the Lord will bless him,
otherwise the frown of the Lord will remain upon him. There is manifestly
an uneasiness in Brother Gilbert, and a fearfulness that God will not
provide for His Saints in these last days, and these fears lead him on to
covetousness. This ought not so to be; but let him do just as the Lord has
commanded him, and then the Lord will open His coffers, and his wants will
be liberally supplied. But if this uneasy, covetous disposition be
cherished by him, the Lord will bring him to poverty, shame, and disgrace.
Brother Phelps' letter of December 15th is also received and
carefully read, and it betrays a lightness of spirit that ill becomes a
man placed in the important and responsible station that he is placed in.
If you have fat beef, and potatoes, eat them in singleness of heart, and
boast not yourselves in these things. Think not, brethren, that we make a
man an offender for a word; this is not the case; but we want to see a
spirit in Zion, by which the Lord will build it up; that is the plain,
solemn, and pure spirit of Christ. Brother Phelps requested in his last
letter that Brother Joseph should come to Zion; but we say that Brother
Joseph will not settle in Zion until she repent, and purify herself, and
abide by the new covenant, and remember the commandments that have been
given her, to do them as well as say them.
You may think it strange that we manifest no cheerfulness of heart
upon the reception of your letters; you may think that our minds are
prejudiced so much that we can see no good that comes from you, but rest
assured, brethren, that this is not the case.
We have the best of feelings, and feelings of the greatest anxiety
for the welfare of Zion; we feel more like weeping over Zion than we do
like rejoicing over her, for we know that the judgments of God hang over
her, and will fall upon her except she repent, and purify herself before
the Lord, and put away from her every foul spirit. We now say to Zion,
this once, in the name of the Lord, Repent! Repent! awake, awake, put on
thy beautiful garments, before you are made to feel the chastening rod of
Him whose anger is kindled against you. Let not Satan tempt you to think
we want to make you bow to us, to domineer over you, for God knows this is
not the case, our eyes are watered with tears, and our hearts are poured
out to God in prayer for you, that He will spare you, and turn away His
anger from you.
There are many things in the last letters from Brothers Gilbert and
Phelps that are good, and we esteem them much. The idea of having "certain
ones appointed to regulate Zion, and Traveling Elders have nothing to do
with this part of the matter," is something we highly approbate, and you
will doubtless know before this reaches you, why William E. M'Lellin
opposed you in this move. We fear there was something in Brother Gilbert,
when he returned to this place from New York last fall, in relation to his
brother William, that was not right; for Brother Gilbert was asked two or
three times about his brother William, but gave evasive answers, and at
the same time, he knew that William was in Cleveland; but the Lord has
taken him. We merely mention this, that all may take warning to work in
the light, for God will bring every secret thing to light.
We now close our epistle by saying unto you the Lord has commanded us
to purify ourselves, to wash our hands and our feet, that He may testify
to His Father and our Father, to His God and our God, that we are clean
from the blood of this generation; and before we could wash our hands and
our feet we were constrained to write this letter. Therefore, with the
feelings of inexpressible anxiety for your welfare, we say again, Repent,
repent, or Zion must suffer, for the scourge and judgment must come upon
her.
Let the Bishop read this to the Elders, that they may warn the
members of the scourge that is coming, except they repent. Tell them to
read the Book of Mormon, and obey it; read the commandments that are
printed, and obey them; yea, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of
God, that peradventure He may turn away His anger from you. Tell them that
they have not come up to Zion to sit down in idleness, neglecting the
things of God, but they are to be diligent and faithful in obeying the new
covenant.
There is one clause in Brother Joseph's letter which you may not
understand; that is this, "If the people of Zion did not repent, the Lord
would seek another place, and another people." Zion is the place where the
temple will be built, and the people gathered, but all people upon that
holy land being under condemnation, the Lord will cut off, if they repent
not, and bring another race upon it, that will serve Him. The Lord will
seek another place to bring forth and prepare his word to go forth to the
nations, and as we said before, so we say again.
Brother Joseph will not settle in Zion, except she repent, and serve
God, and obey the new covenant. With this explanation, the conference
sanctions Brother Joseph's letter.
Brethren, the conference meets again this evening to hear this letter
read, and if it meet their minds, we have all agreed to kneel down before
the Lord, and cry unto Him with all our hearts, that this epistle, and
Brother Joseph's and the revelations also, may have their desired effect,
and accomplish the thing whereunto they are sent and that they may
stimulate you to cleanse Zion, that she mourn not. Therefore when you get
this, know ye that a conference of twelve High Priests have cried unto the
Lord for you, and are still crying, saying, Spare thy people O Lord and
give not thy heritage to reproach. We now feel that our garments are clean
from you, and all men, when we have washed our feet and hands, according
to the commandment.
We have written plainly at this time, but we believe not harshly.
Plainness is what the Lord requires and we should not feel ourselves
clear, unless we had done so; and if the things we have told you be not
attended to, you will not long have occasion to say, or to think rather,
that we may be wrong in what we have stated. Your unworthy brethren are
determined to pray unto the Lord for Zion, as long as we can shed the
sympathetic tear, or feel any spirit to supplicate the throne of grace in
her behalf.
The School of the Prophets will commence, if the Lord will, in two or
three days. It is a general time of health with us. The cause of God seems
to be rapidly advancing in the eastern country; the gifts are beginning to
break forth so as to astonish the world, and even believers marvel at the
power and goodness of God. Thanks be rendered to His holy name for what He
is doing. We are your unworthy brethren in the Lord, and may the Lord help
us all to do His will, that we may at last be saved in His kingdom. ORSON
HYDE, HYRUM SMITH
N. B.--We stated that Brother Gilbert, when he was in Kirtland, knew
that William was in Cleveland last fall. We wrote this upon the strength
of hearsay but William being left at St. Louis, strengthened our
suppositions that such was the fact. We stated further respecting this
matter, or this item than the testimony will warrant us. With this
exception the conference sanctions this letter. O. H., H. S.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE ENJOYMENT OF SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN THE CHURCH--THE WORD OF WISDOM.
THIS winter [1832-33] was spent in translating the scriptures; in the
School of the Prophets; and sitting in conferences. I had many glorious
seasons of refreshing. The gifts which follow them that believe and obey
the Gospel, as tokens that the Lord is ever the same in His dealings with
the humble lovers and followers of truth, began to be poured out among us,
as in ancient days;--for as we, viz,: Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon,
Frederick G. Williams, Newel K. Whitney, Hyrum Smith, Zebedee Coltrin,
Joseph Smith, Sen., Samuel H. Smith, John Murdock, Lyman E. Johnson,
Orson Hyde, Ezra Thayer, High Priests; and Levi Hancock,+ and William
Smith,++ Elders, were assembled in conference, on the 22nd day of
January, I spoke to the conference in another tongue, and was followed in
the same gift by Brother Zebedee Coltrin, and he by Brother William Smith,
after which the Lord poured out His Spirit in a miraculous manner, until
all the Elders spake in tongues, and several members, both male and
female, exercised the same gift. Great and glorious were the divine
manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Praises were sung to God and the Lamb;
speaking and praying, all in tongues, occupied the conference until a late
hour at night, so rejoiced were we at the return of these long absent
blessings.
On the 23rd of January, we again assembled in conference; when, after
much speaking, singing praying, and praising God, all in tongues, we
proceeded to the washing of feet (according to the practice recorded in
the 13th chapter of John's Gospel), as commanded of the Lord. Each Elder
washed his own feet first, after which I girded myself with a towel and
washed the feet of all of them, wiping them with the towel with which I
was girded. Among the number, my father presented himself, but before I
washed his feet, I asked of him a father's blessing, which he granted by
laying his hands upon my head, in the name of Jesus Christ, and declaring
that I should continue in the Priest's office until Christ comes. At the
close of the scene, Brother Frederick G. Williams, being moved upon by the
Holy Ghost, washed my feet in token of his fixed determination to be with
me in suffering, or in journeying, in life or in death, and to be
continually on my right hand: in which I accepted him in the name of the
Lord.
I then said to the Elders, As I have done so do ye; wash ye,
therefore, one another's feet, and by the power of the Holy Ghost I
pronounced them all clean from the blood of this generation; but if any of
them should sin wilfully after they were thus cleansed, and sealed up unto
eternal life, they should be given over unto the buffetings of
Satan until the day of redemption. Having continued all day in
fasting, and prayer, and ordinances, we closed by partaking of the Lord's
supper. I blessed the bread and wine in the name of the Lord, when we all
ate and drank, and were filled; then we sang a hymn, and the meeting
adjourned.
I completed the translation and review of the New Testament, on the
2nd of February, 1833 and sealed it up no more to be opened till it
arrived in Zion.
AN EPISTLE
Of the First Presidency, to the Church of Christ in Thompson,
Geauga County, Ohio.
KIRTLAND, February 6th, 1833.
Dear Brethren: We salute you, by this our epistle, in the bonds of
love, rejoicing in your steadfastness in the faith which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord: and we desire your prosperity in the ways of truth and
righteousness, praying for you continually, that your faith fail not, and
that you may overcome all the evils with which you are surrounded, and
become pure and holy before God, even our Father, to whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen.
It has seemed good unto the Holy Spirit and unto us, to send this our
epistle to you by the hand of our beloved Brother Salmon Gee, your
messenger, who has been ordained by us, in obedience to the commandments
of God, to the office of Elder to preside over the
Church in Thompson, taking the oversight thereof, to lead you and to
teach the things which are according to godliness; in whom we have great
confidence, as we presume also you have, we therefore say to you yea, not
us only, but the Lord also, receive him as such, knowing that the Lord has
appointed him to this office for your good, holding him up by your
prayers, praying for him continually that he may be endowed with wisdom
and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord, that through him you may
be kept from evil spirits, and all strifes and dissensions, and grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Brethren beloved, continue in brotherly love, walk in meekness,
watching unto prayer that you be not overcome. Follow after peace, as said
our beloved brother Paul, that you may be the children of our Heavenly
Father, and not give occasion for stumbling, to Saint or sinner. Finally,
brethren, pray for us, that we may be enabled to do the work whereunto we
are called, that you may enjoy the mysteries of God, even a fullness; and
may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. JOSEPH
SMITH, JUN., SIDNEY RIGDON, FREDERICK G. WILLIAMS.
The following letter was written by John Murdock, a High Priest, (who
had previously been with the Church in Thompson), to Salmon Gee, Elder of
the Church in Thompson:
KIRTLAND, February 11, 1833.
Beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I
beseech you in the bowels of mercy to remember the exhortation which I
gave you while I was yet present with you, to beware of delusive spirits.
I rejoice that our Heavenly Father hath blessed you greatly, as He also
has me, in enabling me to speak the praises of God and the mysteries of
the kingdom in other tongues according to promise; and this without
throwing me down or wallowing me on the ground, or any thing unbecoming or
immoral, also, without any external operation of the system, but it is the
internal operation and power of the Spirit of God, so that I know that
those odd actions and strange noises are not caused by the Spirit of the
Lord as is represented by Brother King. Therefore in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of the living God, according to the authority
of the Holy Priesthood committed to me, I command Brother Thomas King, (as
though I were present), to cease from your diabolical acts of enthusiasm,
and also from acting as an Elder in this Church of Christ, until you come
and give full testimony to the High Priests in Kirtland, that you are
worthy of that holy calling; because those are the things of God, and are
to be used in the fear of God; and I now not only command you but exhort
you in behalf of your soul's salvation, to submit, and let Brother Gee be
upheld by the prayer of faith of every brother and sister, and if there be
this union of spirit and prayer of faith, every false spirit shall be
bound and cast out from among you.
My beloved children in the bonds of the Gospel, and the bowels of
mercy, which is the everlasting love of God I do beseech you to live
faithful and in obedience to the commandments of God; and in the name of
the Lord Jesus, I say, the blessings of God shall attend you. JOHN
MURDOCK.
February 12.--Having received Seaton's paper, from Rochester, New
York, containing a part of my communication, written on the 4th of
January, I wrote as follows:
To N. E. Seaton, Rochester. DEAR SIR;--I was somewhat disappointed on
receiving my paper with only a part of my letter inserted in it. The
letter which I wrote you for publication, I wrote by the commandment of
God, and I am quite anxious to have it all laid before the public, for it
is of importance to them; but I have no claim upon you, neither do I wish
to urge you, beyond that which is reasonable, to do it. I have only to
appeal to your extended generosity to all religious societies that claim
that Christ has come in the flesh; and also to tell you what will be the
consequence of a neglect to publish it.
Some parts of the letter were very severe upon the wickedness of
sectarianism I acknowledge and the truth remember, is hard and severe
against all iniquity and wickedness, but this is no reason why it should
not be published, but the very reason why it should be. I lay the ax at
the root of the tree and I long to see many of the sturdy oaks, which have
long cumbered the ground, fall prostrate. I now say unto you, that if you
wish to clear your garments from the blood of your readers, I exhort you
to publish that letter entire; but if not, the sin be upon your head.
Accept, sir the good wishes and tender regard of your unworthy servant,
JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
February 13.--A council of High Priests assembled to investigate the
proceedings of Brother Burr Riggs, who was accused of failing to magnify
his calling as High Priest, and had been guilty of neglect of duty, of
abusing the Elders, and of treating their admonitions with contempt. After
the council had considered the case, Brother Riggs agreed to make
satisfaction, but did not show much humility.
February 15.--In a council I ordained Harpin Riggs, and Isaac
McWethy, Elders.
February 17.--In conference I ordained John Johnson to the office of
Elder.
February 26.--A special council of High Priests assembled in Zion, to
take into consideration my letter to Brother Phelps of the 11th of
January, and the revelation called the Olive Leaf, referred to in my
letter, and the epistle of Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith of the 14th of
January, in behalf of the conference of High Priests: and Oliver Cowdery,
William W. Phelps, and John Corrill were appointed a committee to write an
epistle from the conference to the brethren in Kirtland; which was written
and sanctioned by the conference.
The same day a conference of High Priests was again called in
Kirtland, concerning Brother Burr Riggs, who was accused of neglecting to
make satisfaction to the Church as he had agreed, and disgracing the High
Priesthood by neglect of duty, and saying he did not care how soon he was
cut off from the Church. He was cut off by a unanimous vote of the
council.
February 27.--I received the following revelation:
THE WORD OF WISDOM.
1. A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests,
assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion--
2. To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by
revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God
in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days--
3. Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the
weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.
4. Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of
evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men
in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you
this word of wisdom by revelation--
5. That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you,
behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in
assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.
6. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of
the vine, of your own make.
7. And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the
washing of your bodies.
8. And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and
is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be
used with judgment and skill.
9. And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
10. And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath
ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man--
11. Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season
thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
12. Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the
Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless
they are to be used sparingly;
13. And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in
times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14. All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the
staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the
fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15. And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of
famine and excess of hunger.
16. All grain is good for the food of man as also the fruit of the
vine, that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the
ground--
17. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for
the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the
field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also
other grain.
18. And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking
in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their naval and
marrow to their bones;
19. And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even
hidden treasures;
20. And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying
angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.
Amen.
March 8.--I received the following revelation:
Revelation.
1. Thus saith the Lord, verily, verily I say unto you my son, thy
sins are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and the
prayers of thy brethren have come up into my ears.
2. Therefore, thou art blessed from henceforth that bear the keys of
the kingdom given unto you; which kingdom is coming forth for the last
time.
3. Verily I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be
taken from you, while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come;
4. Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another,
yea, even unto the church.
5. And all they who receive the oracles of God, let them beware how
they hold them lest they are accounted as a light thing, and are brought
under condemnation thereby, and stumble and fall when the storms descend,
and the winds blow, and the rains descend, and beat upon their house,
6. And again, verily I say unto thy brethren, Sidney Rigdon and
Frederick G. Williams, their sins are forgiven them also, and they are
accounted as equal with thee in holding the keys of this last kingdom;
7. As also through your administration the keys of the school of the
prophets, which I have commanded to be organized;
8. That thereby they may be perfected in their ministry for the
salvation of Zion, and of the nations of Israel, and of the Gentiles, as
many as will believe;
9. That through your administration they may receive the word and
through their administration the word may go forth unto the ends of the
earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn
unto the Jews.
10. And then cometh the day when the arm of the Lord shall be
revealed in power in convincing the nations, the heathen nations, the
house of Joseph, of the gospel of their salvation.
11. For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear
the fullness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language,
through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of
the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.
12. And now, verily I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment
that you continue in the ministry and presidency.
13. And when you have finished the translation of the prophets, you
shall from thenceforth preside over the affairs of the church and the
school;
14. And from time to time, as shall be manifested by the Comforter,
receive revelations to unfold the mysteries of the kingdom
15. And set in order the churches, and study and learn, and become
acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people.
16. And this shall be your business and mission in all your lives, to
preside in council, and set in order all the affairs of this church and
kingdom.
17. Be not ashamed, neither confounded; but be admonished in all your
high-mindedness and pride, for it bringeth a snare upon your souls.
18. Set in order your houses; keep slothfulness and uncleanness far
from you.
19. Now, verily I say unto you, let there be a place provided, as
soon as it is possible, for the family of thy counselor and scribe, even
Frederick G. Williams.
20. And let mine aged servant, Joseph Smith, Sen., continue with his
family upon the place where he now lives; and let it not be sold until the
mouth of the Lord shall name.
21. And let my counselor, even Sidney Rigdon, remain where he now
resides until the mouth of the Lord shall name.
22. And let the bishop search diligently to obtain an agent, and let
him be a man who has got riches in store--a man of God, and of strong
faith--
23. That thereby he may be enabled to discharge every debt; that the
storehouse of the Lord may not be brought into disrepute before the eyes
of the people.
24. Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things
shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the
covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.
25. Let your families be small, especially mine aged servant Joseph
Smith's, Sen., as pertaining to those who do not belong to your families;
26. That those things that are provided for you, to bring to pass my
work, be not taken from you and given to those that are not worthy--
27. And thereby you be hindered in accomplishing those things which I
have commanded you.
28. And again, verily I say unto you, it is my will that my handmaid
Vienna Jaques should receive money to bear her expenses, and go up unto
the land of Zion;
29. And the residue of the money may be consecrated unto me, and she
be rewarded in mine own due time.
30. Verily I say unto you, that it is meet in mine eyes that she
should go up unto the land of Zion, and receive an inheritance from the
hand of the bishop;
31. That she may settle down in peace inasmuch as she is faithful,
and not be idle in her days from thenceforth.
32. And behold, verily I say unto you, that ye shall write this
commandment, and say unto your brethren in Zion, in love greeting, that I
have called you also to preside over Zion in mine own due time.
33. Therefore, let them cease wearying me concerning this matter.
34. Behold, I say unto you that your brethren in Zion begin to
repent, and the angels rejoice over them.
35. Nevertheless, I am not well pleased with many things; and I am
not well pleased with my servant William E. M'Lellin, neither with my
servant Sidney Gilbert, and the bishop also, and others have many things
to repent of.
36. But verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with
Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes
and is clean before me.
37. For she shall not be removed out of her place. I, the Lord have
spoken it. Amen.
March 9, 1833.- Having come to that protion of the ancient writings called the Apocrypha, I received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha--
There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is
mostly translated correctly;
2. There are many things contained therein that are not true, which
are interpolations by the hands of men.
3. Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha
should be translated.
4. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit
manifesteth truth;
5. And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit
therefrom,
6. And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited.
Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.
March 12.--A council of High Priests assembled in the school room and
decided that Horace Cowin and Zerubbabel Snow, Amasa M. Lyman and William
F. Cahoon, Jenkins Salisbury and Truman Wait, journey east on a mission,
two by two, paired as their names are written. Brothers Cowin and
Salisbury were ordained at the same time.
March 15.--A council was called to consider the case of Brother Lake,
from Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, who came professing to have received
revelations. On investigation, it was unanimously agreed, that said
Brother Lake was under the influence of an evil spirit, and that his
license as Priest be taken from him.
The same day I received the following:
Revelation to Enoch (Joseph Smith, Jun.,) given to the Saints in Kirtland.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord, I give unto the united order,
organized agreeable to the commandment previously given, a revelation and
commandment concerning my servant Shederlaomach [Frederick G. Williams],
that ye shall receive him into the order. What I say unto one I say unto
all.
2. And again, I say unto you my servant Shederlaomach [Frederick G.
Williams], you shall be a lively member in this order; and inasmuch as you
are faithful in keeping all former commandments you shall be blessed
forever. Amen.
CHAPTER XXIV.
KIRTLAND TO BE A STAKE OF ZION--REGULATION OF CHURCH AFFAIRS IN MISSOURI.
March 18.--Great joy and satisfaction continually beamed in the
countenances of the School of the Prophets, and the Saints, on account of
the things revealed, and our progress in the knowledge of God. The High
Priests assembled in the school room of the Prophets, and were organized
according to revelation; prayer by Sidney Rigdon.
"Doctor" Hurlburt was ordained an Elder; after which Elder Rigdon
expressed a desire that himself and Brother Frederick G. Williams should
be ordained to the offices to which they had been called, viz., those of
Presidents of the High Priesthood, and to be equal in holding the keys of
the kingdom with Brother Joseph Smith, Jun., according to the revelation
given on the 8th of March, 1833. Accordingly I laid my hands on Brothers
Sidney and Frederick, and ordained them to take part with me in holding
the keys of this last kingdom, and to assist in the Presidency of the High
Priesthood, as my Counselors; after which I exhorted the brethren to
faithfulness and diligence in keeping the commandments of God, and gave
much instruction for the benefit of the Saints, with a promise that the
pure in heart should see a heavenly vision; and after remaining a short
time in secret prayer, the promise was verified; for many present had the
eyes of their understanding opened by the Spirit of God, so as to behold
many things. I then blessed the bread and wine, and distributed a portion
to each. Many of the brethren saw a heavenly vision of the Savior, and
concourses of angels, and many other things, of which each one has a
record of what he saw.
March 23.--A council was called for the purpose of appointing a
committee to purchase land in Kirtland, upon which the Saints might build
a Stake of Zion. Brother Joseph Coe and Moses Dailey were appointed to
ascertain the terms of sale of certain farms; and Brother Ezra Thayre to
ascertain the price of Peter French's farm. The brethren agreed to
continue in prayer and fasting for the ultimate success of their mission.
After an absence of about three hours Brothers Coe and Dailey returned and
reported that Elijah Smith's farm could be obtained for four thousand
dollars; and Mr. Morley's for twenty-one hundred; and Brother Thayre
reported that Peter French would sell his farm for five thousand dollars.
The council decided to purchase the farms, and appointed Ezra Thayre and
Joseph Coe to superintend the purchase; and they were ordained under the
hands of Sidney Rigdon, and set apart as general agents of the Church for
that purpose.
On the 26th of March a council of High Priests, twenty-one in number,
convened for the general welfare of the Church, in what was then called
Zion, in Jackson county, Missouri. On account of a revelation, my letter,
and an epistle from the Church in Kirtland, a solemn assembly had been
called, and a sincere and humble repentance manifested, insomuch that on
the 26th of february, one month previous, a general epistle had been
written in conference, which was satisfactory to the Presidency and Church
at Kirtland, At the sitting of the council of the 26th of March, according
to the plan taught at the solemn assembly, which was, that the seven High
Priests who were sent from Kirtland to build up Zion, viz.--Oliver
Cowdery, W. W.
Phelps, John Whitmer, Algeron Sidney Gilbert, Bishop Partridge and
his two counselors--should stand at the head of affairs relating to the
Church, in that section of the Lord's vineyard; and these seven men, with
the common consent of the branches comprising the Church were to appoint
presiding Elders, to take the watchcare of the several branches, as they
were appointed: Now, therefore, as many of the High Priests and
Elders--whose calling was to travel and preach to the world--went up to
Zion, and commenced regulating and setting the branches in order, and
claiming for themselves as much power by the authority of their
Priesthood, and gift of the Holy Ghost, as those set apart and appointed
to preside over the branches, it became necessary to call the council now
spoken of, to set in order the Elders of Israel. After a long discussion
it was decided from the revelations, that the order taught in the solemn
assembly was correct; and that the Elders, when they arrived at Zion, were
bound by the authorities set in the Church, to be submissive to the powers
that be; their labors and calling being more particularly to push the
people together from the ends of the earth to the places the Lord had
appointed. This decision in council gave general satisfaction, and the
Elders soon saw the beauty of every man standing in his place.
April 2.--F. G. Williams was appointed by a council of High Priests,
an agent to superintend and employ men to labor in the brick-yard on the
French farm, also to rent the farm. The French farm was purchased on
account of the facilities found there for making brick, which was
essential to the building up of the city. The council also instructed
Brother Ezra Thayre to purchase the tannery of Arnold Mason, in Kirtland.
On the 6th of April, in the land of Zion, about eighty officials,
together with some unofficial members of the Church, met for instruction
and the service of God, at the Ferry on Big Blue river near the western
limits of Jackson county, which is the boundary line of the state of
Missouri and also of the United States. It was an early spring, and the
leaves and blossoms enlivened and gratified the soul of man like a glimpse
of Paradise. The day was spent in a very agreeable manner, in giving and
receiving knowledge which appertained to this last kingdom--it being just
1800 years since the Savior laid down His life that men might have
everlasting life, and only three years since the Church had come out of
the wilderness, preparatory for the last dispensation. The Saints had
great reason to rejoice: they thought upon the time when this world came
into existence, and the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of
God shouted for joy; they thought of the time when Israel ate the
"Passover," as wailing came up for the loss of the firstborn of Egypt;
they felt like the shepherds who watched their flocks by night, when the
angelic choir sweetly sang the electrifying strain, "Peace on earth, good
will to man;" and the solemnities of eternity rested upon them. This was
the first attempt made by the Church to celebrate the anniversary of her
birthday, and those who professed not our faith talked about it as a
strange thing.
While the Church was thus rejoicing, the news from abroad was, that
30,000 out of a population of 100,000 had died of starvation, in
consequence of the famine produced by three year's drouth, followed by a
flood, in the Cape Verde Islands; that sixteen shocks of earthquake had
been felt the previous February, at St. Kitts and Nevis, in the West
Indian Islands; that the Polish Jews were about to visit Jerusalem; that
war was raging between Turkey and Egypt; that a great fire had occurred in
Liverpool; that volcanic eruptions, wars and rumors of wars, were
prevailing in different sections of the earth, and fire-balls and fearful
signs were seen in the heavens, with many other alarming appearances,
which caused the hearts of the wicked to tremble, none of which was more
awful than the continued spread of the Asiatic cholera in Europe, which
had already swept from the earth, in the short space of fifteen years,
about sixty millions of inhabitants.
Brother Jared Carter presented me a letter, which he had received
from his brother, and requested me to answer it, which I did as follows:
KIRTLAND, April 13, 1833.
Dear Brother Carter;--Your letter to Brother Jared is just put into
my hand, and I have carefully perused its contents, and embrace this
opportunity to answer it. We proceed to answer your questions; first
concerning your labor in the region where you live; we acquiesce in your
feelings on this subject until the mouth of the Lord shall name.
Respecting the vision you speak of we do not consider ourselves bound to
receive any revelation from any one man or woman without his being legally
constituted and ordained to that authority, and giving sufficient proof of
it.
I will inform you that it is contrary to the economy of God for any
member of the Church, or any one, to receive instructions for those in
authority, higher than themselves, therefore you will see the impropriety
of giving heed to them; but if any person have a vision or a visitation
from a heavenly messenger, it must be for his own benefit and instruction;
for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the Church are
vested in the keys of the kingdom Respecting an apostate, or one who has
been cut off from the Church, and who wishes to come in again, the law of
our Church expressly says that such shall repent, and be baptized, and be
admitted as at the first.
The duty of a High Priest is to administer in spiritual and holy
things, and to hold communion with God; but not to exercise monarchial
government, or to appoint meetings for the Elders without their consent.
And again, it is the High Priests' duty to be better qualified to teach
principles and doctrines, than the Elders; for the office of Elder is an
appendage to the High Priesthood, and it concentrates and centers in one.
And again, the process of laboring with member: We are to deal with them
precisely as the Scriptures direct. If thy brother trespass against thee,
take him between him and thee alone and, if he make thee satisfaction,
thou hast saved thy brother; and if not, proceed to take another with
thee, etc., and when there is no
Bishop, they are to be tried by the voice of the Church; and if an
Elder, or a High Priest be present, he is to take the lead in managing the
business; but if not, such as have the highest authority should preside.
With respect to preparing to go to Zion;--First it would be pleasing
to the Lord that the church or churches going to Zion should be organized,
and a suitable person appointed who is well acquainted with the condition
of the church, and he be sent to Kirtland to inform the Bishop, and
procure a license from him agreeable to the revelation; by so doing you
will prevent confusion and disorder, and escape many difficulties that
attend an unorganized band in journeying in the last days.
And again, those in debt, should in all cases pay their debts, and
the rich are in no wise to cast out the poor, or leave them behind, for it
is said that the poor shall inherit the earth.
You quoted a passage in Jeremiah, with regard to journeying to Zion;
the word of the Lord stands sure, so let it be done.
There are two paragraphs in your letter which I do not commend, a
they were written blindly. Speaking of the Elders being sent like
lightning from the bow of Judah, the second, no secrets in the councils of
Zion. You mention these as if fear rested upon your mind, otherwise we
cannot understand it. And again we never inquire at the hand of God for
special revelation only in case of there being no previous revelation to
suit the case; and that in a council of High Priests.
For further information on the subject about which you have written I
will refer you to the Elders who have recently left here for the east by
commandment, some of whom you will probably see soon. You may depend on
any information you may receive from them that are faithful. You may
expect to see Brothers Orson Pratt and Lyman E. Johnson for whom we have
great fellowship.
It is a great thing to inquire at the hands of God, or to come into
His presence; and we feel fearful to approach Him on subjects that are of
little or no consequence, to satisfy the queries of individuals,
especially about things the knowledge of which men ought to obtain in all
sincerity, before God for themselves, in humility by the prayer of faith;
and more especially a Teacher or a High Priest in the Church I speak these
things not by way of reproach, but by way of instruction; and I speak as
if acquainted with you whereas we are strangers to each other in the
flesh.
I love your soul, and the souls of the children of men and pray and
do all I can for the salvation of all.
I now close by sending you a salutation of peace in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be and abide with you all.
Amen. JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
P. S.--If it be convenient to send a delegate to Kirtland, to procure
license for the brethren to go to Zion, it can be done by two or more
Elders. We have received two letters from Brother Sherwood, stating the
order and condition of the Church, and respecting the vision of his wife,
but on account of a multitude of business they have not been answered by
us; you will please read this letter to Brother Sherwood. J. S.
In April the School of the Prophets closed to commence again in the
fall.
A LETTER TO THE BRETHREN IN ZION,
KIRTLAND. April 21, 1833.
Dear Brethren in Zion: Agreeable to a notice we gave you, in Brother
Whitney's last letter to you with respect to answering your letters, we
now commence, after giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for every
expression of His goodness in preserving our unprofitable lives to the
present time, and for the health and other blessings which we now enjoy
through His mercies.
With joy we received your general epistle, written the 26th of
February, which contained the confession of our brethren concerned, all of
which was to our entire satisfaction.
It was read by the brethren in Kirtland with feelings of the deepest
interest, knowing as we did, that the anger of the Lord was kindled
against you, and nothing but repentance, of the greatest humility, would
turn it away; and I will assure you that expressions of joy beamed on
every countenance when they saw that our epistle and the revelation had
been received by our brethren in Zion, and had had the desired effect.
For your satisfaction, I here insert a revelation given to
Shederlaomach (Frederick G. Williams), the 15th of March, 1833,
constituting him a member of the United Firm.
With respect to Brother Gilbert's letter of the 10th of December, I
would say to him; firstly, he wrote it in all sincerity of heart, and we
were pleased with the style, and composition; but upon mature reflection,
and inquiry at the hands of the Lord, we find some things that are
unreconcilable, especially to some; I mean with respect to hints given
that are not clearly explained.
As every letter that comes from Zion must go the rounds of the
brethren for inspection, it is necessary that there should be no disguise
in them, but that every subject written upon by the brethren should be
plain to the understanding of all, that no jealousy may be raised, and
when we rebuke, do it in all meekness. The letter written the 24th of
February was not written in that contrition of heart in which it should
have been, for it appears to have been written in too much of a spirit of
justification; but the letter to Brother Whitney of the 20th of March, was
written to our entire satisfaction.
Now I would say to Brother Gilbert, that I do not write this by way
of chastisement, but to show him the absolute necessity of having all his
communications written in a manner to be clearly understood. We are well
aware of the great care upon his mind, in consequence of much business,
but he must put his trust in God, and he may rest assured that he has our
prayers day and night, that he may have strength to overcome every
difficulty. We have learned of the Lord that it is his duty to assist all
the poor brethren that are pure in heart, and that he has done wrong in
withholding credit from them, as they must have assistance; and the Lord
established him in Zion for that express purpose.
It is not the will of the Lord to print any of the New Translation in
the Star; but when it is published, it will all go to the world together,
in a volume by itself; and the New Testament and the Book of Mormon will
be printed together.
With respect to Brother Oliver's private letter to me on the subject
of giving deeds, and receiving contributions from brethren, I have nothing
further to say on the subject than to recommend that you make yourselves
acquainted with the commandments of the Lord, and the laws of the state,
and govern yourselves accordingly. Brother Elliot was here yesterday and
showed me a letter from Brother Phelps, and we were well pleased with the
spirit in which it was written. The probability is that he [Elliot] will
not go to Zion at present, as he has bought [lands] in Chagrin.
We rejoice to hear that the Seminary lands are reduced in price, and
are coming into market; and be assured that we shall use our influence to
send brethren to Zion who are able to help you in the purchase of lands.
We have just received a letter from Brother Sidney, he has built up a
church of eight members, in Medina county, Ohio, and has prospects of
more. With respect to the deaths in Zion, we feel to mourn with those that
mourn, but remember that the God of all the earth will do right. And now,
my beloved brethren, I commend you to God and His grace, praying Him to
keep and preserve you blameless, of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
P. S.--Say to Brother Corrill that his confession gave me great
satisfaction, and all things are now settled on my part. J. S.
In the month of April, the first regular mob rushed together, in
Independence, to consult upon a plan, for the removal, or immediate
destruction, of the Church in Jackson county. The number of the mob was
about three hundred. A few of the first Elders met in secret, and prayed
to Him who said to the wind, "Be still," to frustrate them in their wicked
designs. The mob, therefore, after spending the day in a fruitless
endeavor to unite upon a general scheme for "moving the Mormons out of
their diggings" (as they asserted), became a little the worse for liquor
and broke up in a regular Missouri "row," showing a determined resolution
that every man would "carry his own head."
April 30,--A conference of High Priests assembled at the school room,
in Kirtland, and appointed Brother Albert Brown a committee to circulate a
subscription, to procure money to pay for the use of the house where
meetings had been held the past season. John P. Greene was instructed to
go and take charge of the branch of the Church in Parkham county, carrying
with him an epistle to the brethren; and as soon as convenient he was to
remove his family to that place. It was also decided that Sister Vienna
Jaques should not proceed immediately on her journey to Zion, but wait
until William Hobert was ready, and go in company with him.
May 4.--A conference of High Priests assembled in Kirtland, to take
into consideration the necessity of building a school house, for the
accommodation of the Elders, who should come together to receive
instruction preparatory for their missions, and ministry, according to a
revelation on that subject, given March 8, 1833, and by unanimous voice
of the conference; Hyrum Smith, Jared
Carter, and Reynolds Cahoon were appointed a committee to obtain
subscriptions, for the purpose of erecting such a building.
A council had previously been held in Norton Township, Medina county,
Ohio, at which Sidney Rigdon presided. The council took into
consideration the standing of Baldwin Welton, Aaron Smith, and----Hays,
Elders; and James Braden, Priest; and decided that their ordinations were
illegal, and that the churches should not receive them in their several
offices. The doings of the council were reviewed, and sanctioned by the
First Presidency, viz: Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon, Frederick G.
Williams, and entered on record in Kirtland.
May 6,--I received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every
soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name,
and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and
know that I am.
2. And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh
into the world;
3. And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father
and I are one--
4. The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because
I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons
of men.
5. I was in the world and received of my Father, and the works of him
were plainly manifest.
6. And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the
fulness of John's record is hereafter to be revealed.
7. And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the
beginning, before the world was;
8. Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word even
the messenger of salvation--
9. The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who
came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the
life of men and the light of men.
10. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things
were made by him, and through him, and of him.
11. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of
the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit
of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
12. And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the
first, but received grace for grace;
13. And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from
grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
14. And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of
the fulness at the first.
15. And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and
the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him,
and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
16. And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory
of the Father;
17. And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the
glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.
18. And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall
receive the fulness of the record of John.
19. I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know
how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the
Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20. For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness,
and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you,
you shall receive grace for grace.
21. And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the
Father, and am the Firstborn;
22. And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the
glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn
23. Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is
Spirit, even the Spirit of truth;
24. And Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were,
and as they are to come;
25. And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that
wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
26. The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John
bore record of me, saying; He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of
all truth;
27. And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his
commandments.
28. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until
he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
29. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the
light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
30. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed
it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no
existence.
31. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation
of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto
them, and they receive not the light.
32. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under
condemnation.
33. For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and
element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34. And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
35. The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the
tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God
shall destroy that temple.
36. The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and
truth.
37. Light and truth forsake that evil one.
38. Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having
redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state,
innocent before God.
39. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth,
through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the
tradition of their fathers.
40. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and
truth.
41. But verily I say unto you, my servant Frederick G. Williams, you
have continued under this condemnation;
42. You have not taught your children light and truth, according to
the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and
this is the cause of your affliction.
43. And now a commandment I give unto you--if you will be delivered
you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are
not right in your house.
44. Verily, I say unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, that in some things
he hath not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore,
first set in order thy house.
45. Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other
words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have
an inheritance with me--
46. I called you servants for the world's sake, and ye are their
servants for my sake--
47. And now, verily I say unto Joseph Smith, Jun.--You have not kept
the commandments, and must needs stand rebuked before the Lord;
48. Your family must needs repent and forsake some things, and give
more earnest heed unto your sayings, or be removed out of their place.
49. What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked
one have power in you, and remove you out of your place.
50. My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop of my church, hath
need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are
more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be
removed out of their place.
51. Now, I say unto you, my friends, let my servant Sidney Rigdon go
on his journey, and make haste, and also proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord, and the gospel of salvation, as I shall give him utterance, and
by your prayer of faith with one consent I will uphold him.
52. And let my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Frederick G. Williams
make haste also, and it shall be given them even according to the prayer
of faith; and inasmuch as you keep my sayings you shall not be confounded
in this world, nor in the world to come.
53. And, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should
hasten to translate my scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history,
and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this
for the salvation of Zion. Amen.
The same date (May 6th) I received the following:
Revelation.
1. And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, a commandment I
give unto you, that ye shall commence a work of laying out and preparing a
beginning and foundation of the city of the stake of Zion, here in the
land of Kirtland, beginning at my house.
2. And behold, it must be done according to the pattern which I have
given unto you.
3. And let the first lot on the south be consecrated unto me for the
building of a house for the presidency, for the work of the presidency, in
obtaining revelations, and for the work of the ministry of the presidency,
in all things pertaining to the church and kingdom.
4. Verily I say unto you, that it shall be built fifty-five by
sixty-five feet in the width thereof and in the length thereof, in the
inner court.
5. And there shall be a lower court and a higher court, according to
the pattern which shall be given unto you hereafter.
6. And it shall be dedicated unto the Lord from the foundation
thereof, according to the order of the priesthood, according to the
pattern which shall be given unto you hereafter.
7. And it shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the
presidency.
8. And ye shall not suffer any unclean thing to come in unto it; and
my glory shall be there, and my presence shall be there.
9. But if there shall come into it any unclean thing my glory shall
not be there; and my presence shall not come into it
10. And again, verily I say unto you, the second lot on the south
shall be dedicated unto me for the building of a house unto me, for the
work of the printing of the translation of my scriptures, and all things
whatsoever I shall command you.
11. And it shall be fifty-five by sixty-five feet in the width
thereof and the length thereof, in the inner court; and there shall be a
lower and a higher court.
12. And this house shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord from the
foundation thereof, for the work of the printing, in all things whatsoever
I shall command you, to be holy, undefiled, according to the pattern in
all things as it shall be given unto you.
13. And on the third lot shall my servant Hyrum Smith receive his
inheritance.
14. And on the first and second lots on the north shall my servants
Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter receive their inheritances--
15. That they may do the work which I have appointed unto them, to be
a committee to build mine houses, according to the commandment, which I,
the Lord God, have given unto you.
16. These two houses are not to be built until I give unto you a
commandment concerning them.
17. And now I give unto you no more at this time. Amen.
The signs of the times continued to attract the attention of the
world, The cholera had broken out at Havana, and it was reported that five
hundred were perishing daily, and Oporto, in the province of
Entre-Minho-e-Douro, Portugal, was experiencing the same calamity. The
influenza was raging at St. Petersburg, Russia; more than one hundred
thousand were suffering from its effects, and it was reported to be more
violent at Moscow. So dreadful were the effects of the cholera, which
spread consternation among the inhabitants of the earth, that it was
reported that the eyes of some of the afflicted burst from their sockets.
A treaty was entered into about this time with several tribes of
Indians, some to be located on the east of Winnebago lake, and others to
be removed west of the Mississippi.
May 25.--My uncle, John Smith and family arrived in Kirtland, from
Potsdam, New York, my uncle being an Elder in the Church; and his wife and
eldest son, George Albert Smith, a lad of fifteen, were members. They were
the first of my father's relatives who obeyed the Gospel.
CHAPTER XXV.
PREPARATION FOR BUILDING THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE--TRIAL AND
EXCOMMUNICATION OF "DOCTOR" PHILASTUS HURLBURT.
June 1. Great preparations were making to commence a house of the
Lord; and notwithstanding the Church was poor, yet our unity, harmony and
charity abounded to strengthen us to do the commandments of God. The
building of the house of the Lord in Kirtland was a matter that continued
to increase in its interest in the hearts of the brethren, and the
building committee issued the following circular to the different branches
of the Church:
CIRCULAR.
KIRTLAND, June 1, 1833.
To the Church of Christ in--
We feel under obligations to write to you as well as to all the
brethren of the different branches; and we do this, that you, with us, may
exert yourselves to bring about the fulfilment of the command of the Lord
concerning the establishing, or preparing a house, wherein the Elders who
have been commanded of the Lord so to do, may gather themselves together,
and prepare all things, and call a solemn assembly and treasure up words
of wisdom, that they may go forth to the Gentiles for the last time; and
now, in order to accomplish this, we are directed, yea, we are under the
necessity, to call upon the whole Church as a body, that they make every
possible exertion to aid temporally, as well as spiritually, in this great
work that the Lord is beginning, and is about to accomplish. And unless
we fulfil this command, viz: establish an house, and prepare all things
necessary whereby the elders may gather into a school, called the School
of the Prophets, and receive that instruction which the Lord designs they
should receive, we may all despair of obtaining the great blessing that
God has promised to the faithful of the Church of Christ; therefore it is
as important, as our salvation, that we obey this above-mentioned command,
as well as all the commandments of the Lord.
Therefore, brethren, we write this epistle to you, to stir up your
minds to make that exertion which the Lord requires of you, to lend a
temporal aid in these things above written, and in order that you may know
how to conduct the business, we will relate what we have done and are
doing here.
We have met in conference, and agreed to form a subscription, and
circulate it through the churches. The conference also appointed Hyrum
Smith, Reynolds Cahoon, and Jared Carter, a committee to superintend this
business, viz; that of circulating subscriptions to establish a fund to
build a house, and to aid the Elders to attend this school. The
subscriptions are now in circulation among us, and our Heavenly Father is
opening the hearts of our brethren beyond the expectation of many; and not
one brother among us, as yet, refuses to exert himself to do something in
a temporal way to bring about the establishing of this house and school
and we say, may our Heavenly Father open your hearts also, that you, with
us may gather together something to aid as a temporal benefit.
Probably you had better call the officers of the Church immediately
together, and appoint someone to circulate a subscription that each
individual, after signing, may have a sufficient time to make preparations
to pay what he subscribes; for it will be necessary, wherever the brethren
are at a distance from Kirtland, that they exert themselves to send on
their gift or assistance as soon as they can to Kirtland, though they can,
if they believe best, wait on those that sign until the first of
September, and then collect and send it to Kirtland.
These considerations we have written to you, knowing it to be our
duty thus to do, and may the Lord help you to exert yourselves with us, in
raising the means to bring about the glorious work of the Lord; and may we
all be kept by the grace of God unto eternal life. Amen. HYRUM SMITH,
REYNOLDS CAHOON, JARED CARTER, Committee.
The same day [June 1st] I received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom
I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the
chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of
temptation, and I have loved you--
2. Wherefore, ye must needs be chastened and stand rebuked before my
face;
3. For ye have sinned against me a very grievous sin, in that ye have
not considered the great commandment in all things, that I have given unto
you concerning the building of mine house;
4. For the preparation wherewith I design to prepare mine apostles to
prune my vineyard for the last time, that I may bring to pass my strange
act, that I may pour out my Spirit upon all flesh--
5. But behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many who have
been ordained among you, whom I have called but few of them are chosen.
6. They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that
they are walking in darkness at noon-day.
7. And for this cause I gave unto you a commandment that you should
call your solemn assembly, that your fastings and your mourning might come
up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, which is by interpretation, the
creator of the first day, the beginning and the end.
8. Yea, verily I say unto you, I gave unto you a commandment that you
should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I
have chosen with power from on high,
9. For this is the promise of the Father unto you; therefore I
command you to tarry, even as mine apostles at Jerusalem.
10. Nevertheless, my servants sinned a very grievous sin; and
contentions arose in the school of the prophets; which was very grievous
unto me, saith your Lord; therefore I sent them forth to be chastened.
11. Verily I say unto you, it is my will that you should build a
house. If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build it.
12. If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not
continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness.
13. Now here is wisdom, and the mind of the Lord--let the house be
built, not after the manner of the world, for I give not unto you that ye
shall live after the manner of the world.
14. Therefore, let it be built after the manner which I shall show
unto three of you, whom ye shall appoint and ordain unto this power.
15. And the size thereof shall be fifty and five feet in width, and
let it be sixty-five feet in length, in the inner court thereof.
16. And let the lower part of the inner court be dedicated unto me
for your sacrament offering, and for your preaching, and your fasting, and
your praying, and the offering up of your most holy desires unto me, saith
your Lord.
17. And let the higher part of the inner court be dedicated unto me
for the school of mine apostles, saith Son Ahman; or, in other words,
Alphus; or, in other words, Omegus; even Jesus Christ your Lord. Amen.
June 3.--A conference of High Priests convened in the translating
room in Kirtland. The first case presented was that of "Doctor" Philastus
Hurlburt, who was accused of un-Christian conduct with women, while on a
mission to the east. On investigation it was decided that his commission
be taken from him, and that he be no longer a member of the Church of
Christ.
The next matter before the conference was to ascertain what should be
the dimensions or size of the house, that is to be built for a house of
worship and for the School of the Prophets. I had received a revelation on
the size of the house in which the word of the Lord was that it should be
fifty-five feet wide, and sixty-five feet long, in the inner court. The
conference appointed Joseph Smith, Jun., Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G.
Williams to obtain a draft or construction of the inner court of the
house.
June 4,--A similar conference assembled at the same place and took
into consideration how the French farm should be disposed of. The
conference could not agree who should take charge of it, but all agreed to
inquire of the Lord; accordingly we received the following:
Revelation to Enoch [Joseph Smith, Jun.] Showing the Order of the
City or Stake of Zion, in Shinehah [Kirtland,] given for a Sample
to the Saints in Kirtland,
1. Behold, I say unto you, here is wisdom, whereby ye may know how
to act concerning this matter, for it is expedient in me that this stake
that I have set for the strength of Zion should be made strong.
2. Therefore, let my servant Ahashdah [Newel K. Whitney] take charge
of the place which is named among you, upon which I design to build mine
holy house.
3. And again, let it be divided into lots, according to wisdom, for
the benefit of those who seek inheritances, as it shall be determined in
council among you.
4. Therefore, take heed that ye see to this matter, and that portion
that is necessary to benefit mine order, for the purpose of bringing forth
my word to the children of men.
5. For behold, verily I say unto you, this is the most expedient in
me, that my word should go forth unto the children of men, for the purpose
of subduing the hearts of the children of men for your good. Even so.
Amen.
6. And again verily I say unto you it is wisdom and expedient in me
that my servant Zombre [John Johnson] whose offering I have accepted, and
whose prayers I have heard, unto whom I give a promise of eternal life
inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments from henceforth--
7. For he is a descendant of Seth [Joseph] and a partaker of the
blessings of the promise made unto his fathers--
8. Verily I say unto you, it is expedient in me that he should become
a member of the order, that he may assist in bringing forth my word unto
the children of men
9. Therefore ye shall ordain him unto this blessing, and he shall
seek diligently to take away incumbrances that are upon the house named
among you, that he may dwell therein. Even so. Amen.
Zombre [John Johnson] was ordained by the conference to the High
Priesthood, and admitted according to the revelation.
June 5.--George A. Smith hauled the first load of stone for the
Temple, and Hyrum Smith and Reynolds Cahoon commenced digging the trench
for the walls of the Lord's house, and finished the same with their own
hands.
June 6.--A conference of High Priests assembled, and chose Orson Hyde
a clerk to the Presidency of the High Priesthood. This conference was more
especially called to counsel the committee, who had been appointed to take
the oversight of the building of the house of the Lord. The conference
voted that the committee, (Reynolds Cahoon, Jared Carter, and Hyrum
Smith), proceeded immediately to commence building the house; or to
obtaining materials, stone, brick, lumber, etc., for the same.
June 21.--"Doctor" Hurlburt being dissatisfied with the decision of
the council on his case presented the following appeal:
I, Doctor Philastus Hurlburt, having been tried before the Bishop's
council of High Priests on a charge of unChristian-like conduct with the
female sex, and myself being absent at the time, and considering that
strict justice was not done me, I do, by these presents, most solemnly
enter my appeal unto the President's council of high priests for a
re-hearing, according to the privilege guaranteed to me in the laws of the
Church, which council is now assembled in the school room, in Kirtland,
this 21st day of June, 1833.
It was voted by the council present, when this was received, that
Brother Hurlburt be granted a re-hearing; and after prayer (which was
customary at the opening of all councils of the Church) , the council
proceeded to ordain two High Priests, to make out the number, (twelve)
that the council, or Church court, might be organized. By the choice of
the council Brothers John and William Smith were ordained under the hands
of Elder Rigdon.
Brother Hurlburt's case was then laid before the court, and the
testimony against him given by Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith, and duly
investigated. The decision of the court was, that Brother Hurlburt should
be forgiven, because of the liberal confession which he made. This court
also decided that the Bishop's council decided correctly on the case, and
that Brother Hurlburt's crime was sufficient to cut him off from the
Church; but on his confession he was restored.
The President's court also took Brother Daniel Copley's Priest's
license and membership from him because he refused to fulfil his mission
according to the council of the High Priesthood of the holy order of God.
June 23,--"Doctor" Philastus Hurlburt was again called in question,
by a general council; and Brother Gee, of Thompson, testified that Brother
Hurlburt said that he deceived Joseph Smith's God, or the spirit by which
he is actuated. There was also corroborating testimony brought against him
by Brother Hodges. The council cut him off from the Church.
A council of the Elders of the Church was held at Westfield, New
York, the same day. Elder Gladden Bishop was president and Brother Chester
L. Heath clerk. Brother Paul entered a complaint against Brother James
Higby, an Elder, for circulating false and slanderous reports, and not
observing the order of the Gospel, and presented evidence unimpeachable,
to substantiate the same to the satisfaction of the council; upon which
evidence--and from Brother Higby's own mouth, and the spirit he
manifested--
he was declared guilty by the council, and he was cut off from the
Church, The council then demanded his license and the Church record, which
he utterly refused to give up; therefore, resolved that the proceedings of
the council be sent to Kirtland, that it may be known among the different
branches of the Church.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE PLAT OF THE CITY OF ZION--ITS TEMPLES--CORRESPONDENCE ON AFFAIRS IN
ZION AND EUGENE.
An explanation of the plat of the city of Zion, sent to the brethren
in Zion, the 25th of June, 1833:
THE plat contains one mile square; all the squares in the plat
contain ten acres each, being forty rods square. You will observe that the
lots are laid off alternately in the squares; in one square running from
the south and north to the line through the center of the square; and in
the next, the lots run from the east and west to the center line. Each lot
is four perches in front and twenty back, making one half of an acre in
each lot, so that no one street will be built on entirely through the
street; but on one square the houses will stand on one street, and on the
next one, another, except the middle range of squares, which runs north
and south, in which range are the painted squares. The lots are laid off
in these squares, north and south, all of them; because these squares are
forty perches by sixty, being twenty perches longer than the others, their
greatest length being east and west, and by running all these squares,
north and south, it makes all the lots in the city of one size.
The painted squares in the middle are for public buildings. The one
without any figures is for store-houses for the Bishop, and to be devoted
to his use. Figure first is for temples for the use of the presidency; the
circles inside of the squares, are the places for the temples. You will
see it contains twelve figures, two are for the temples of the lesser
Priesthood. It is also to contain twelve temples.
The whole plot is supposed to contain from fifteen to twenty thousand
people: you will therefore see that it will require twenty-four buildings
to supply them with houses of worship, schools, etc.; and none of these
temples are to be smaller than the one of which we send you a draft. This
temple is to be built in the square marked figure 1; and to be built where
the circle is which has a cross on it on the north end. South of the plot
where the line is drawn, is to be laid off for barns, stables, etc., for
the use of the city; so that no barns or stables will be in the city among
the houses; the ground to be occupied for these must be laid off according
to wisdom. On the north and south are to be laid off the farms for the
agriculturist, and sufficient quantity of land to supply the whole plot;
and if it cannot be laid off without going too great a distance from the
city, there must also be some laid off on the east and west.
When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in
the same way, and so fill up the world in these last days; and let every
man live in the city, for this is the city of Zion. All the streets are of
one width, being eight perches wide. Also, the space round the outer edge
of the painted squares, is to be eight perches between the temple and the
street on every side. No one lot, in this city, is to contain more than
one house, and that to be built twenty-five feet back from the street,
leaving a small yard in front, to be planted in a grove, according to the
taste of the builder; the rest of the lot for gardens; all the houses are
to be built of brick and stone. The scale of the plot is forty perches to
the inch.
The names of the temples to be built on the painted squares as
represented on the plot of the city of Zion, which is now about to be
forwarded thither:--numbers 10, 11, and 12, are to be called, House of the
Lord, for the Presidency of the High and most Holy Priesthood, after the
order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of the Son of God, upon
Mount Zion, City of the New Jerusalem. Numbers 7, 8, and 9, the Sacred
Apostolic Repository, for the use of the Bishop. Numbers 4, 5, and 6, the
Holy Evangelical House, for the High Priesthood of the Holy Order of God.
Numbers 1, 2, and 3, the House of the Lord, for the Elders of Zion, an
Ensign to the Nations. Numbers 22, 23, and 24, House of the Lord for the
Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the Order of Aaron, a Standard
for the People. Numbers 19, 20, and 21, House of the Lord, the Law of the
Kingdom of Heaven, and Messenger to the People; for the Highest Priesthood
after the Order of Aaron. Numbers 16, 17, and 18, House of the Lord for
the Teachers in Zion, Messenger to the Church. Numbers 13, 14, and 15,
House of the Lord for the Deacons in Zion, Helps in Government. Underneath
must be written on each house--
HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
A description of the House of the Lord, which is to be built
first in Zion:
The house of the Lord for the Presidency, is eighty-seven feet long
and sixty-one feet wide, and ten feet taken off of the east end for the
stairway, leaves the inner court, seventy-eight feet by sixty-one, which
is calculated and divided for seats in the following manner, viz: the two
aisles four feet wide each; the middle block of pews are eleven feet ten
inches long, and three feet wide each; and the two lines drawn through the
middle are four inches apart; in which space a curtain is to drop at right
angles, and divide the house into four parts if necessary. The pews of the
side blocks are fourteen and a half feet long, and three feet wide. The
five pews in each corner of the house, are twelve feet six inches long.
The open spaces between the corner and side pews are for fireplaces; those
in the west are nine feet wide, and the east ones are eight feet and eight
inches wide, and the chimneys carried up in the wall where they are marked
with a pencil.
The pulpit in the west end of the house is to be occupied by the High
Priesthood, as follows:--Number 1, is for the President and his council;
number 2, for the Bishop and his council; number 3, for the High Priests;
and number 4 for the Elders; each of these is eight feet long, containing
three coves or stands for the respective speakers; and those seats
opposite them are for visiting officers, who are to occupy seats according
to their respective grades. The two spaces in the middle are stairs two
feet wide. The middle pulpit is to be elevated; the first seats one foot,
the second two feet, the third three feet, and the fourth four feet. And
those upon each side are also to be elevated: the first one eight inches,
the second sixteen, the third twenty-four, the fourth thirty-two. The
corner seats are to be occupied by singers, and elevated--the first seat
six inches, the second twelve, the third eighteen, the fourth twenty-four,
and the fifth thirty-two inches. The pulpit in the east end of the house
is to be occupied by the Lesser Priesthood. Number 1, is for the
Presidency of the Lesser Priesthood; number 2, for the Priests; number 3,
for the Teachers; and number 4, for the Deacons; and the seats by their
sides, are also to be occupied by visiting officers; each one opposite his
respective grade. The pulpits are to be finished with panel work, in the
best workmanlike manner; and the building to be constructed of stone and
brick of the best quality. Observe particularly that as there are pulpits
at each end of the house, the backs of the congregation must be to one of
them, and they will want occasionally to change. In order for this the
house must have pews instead of slips, and in the pews let the seats be
loose, that they may slip from one side of the pew to the other, so as to
face either pulpit, as occasion may require.
The side view represents five windows in each story. The windows are
to have each forty-eight lights, of seven by nine glass, six one way and
eight the other; the sides and lintels of the windows to be of hewn stone,
and on the top of the lintel is to be a Gothic top, as you see, but the
windows must have a lintel; and so with the outside doors, all with Gothic
tops.
Make your house fourteen feet high between the floors. There will not
be a gallery but a chamber; each story to be fourteen feet high, arched
overhead with an elliptic arch. Let the foundation of the house be of
stone; let it be raised sufficiently high to allow of banking up so high
as to admit of a descent every way from the house, so far as to divide the
distance between this house, and the one next to it. On the top of the
foundation, above the embankment, let there be two rows of hewn stone, and
then commence the brick-work on the hewn stone. The entire height of the
house is to be twenty-eight feet, each story being fourteen feet; make the
wall a sufficient thickness for a house of this size. The end view
represents five windows of the same size as those at the side, the middle
window excepted, which is to be the same, with the addition of side
lights. This middle window is designed to light the rooms both above and
below, as the upper floor is to be laid off in the same way as the lower
one, and arched overhead;
with the same arrangement of curtains, or veils, as before mentioned.
The doors are to be five feet wide, and nine feet high, and to be in
the east end of the house. The west end is to have no doors, but in other
respects is to be like the east, except the windows are to be opposite the
alleys which run east and west. The roof of the house is to have
one-fourth pitch, the door to have Gothic top, the same as the windows.
The shingles of the roof to be painted before they are put on. There is to
be a fanlight, as you see. The windows and doors are all to have venetian
blinds. A belfry is to be in the east end, and a bell of very large size.
You will be careful to have hooks and rings to suspend your veils on,
so that they can be let down or raised at any time, at pleasure. Also, as
you see, the pulpits are to have four seats, rising one above another; for
instance, the Elder's seat is the lowest, next comes the High Priest's,
next the Bishop's; so each of these must have a veil that is suspended
from the upper floor, so as to be let down; which will at any time when
necessary be let down, and shut off each stand or seat by itself.
The same day [June 25th], we wrote to Brother W. W. Phelps, and
others in Zion, from Kirtland, as follows:
Brethren:--We have received your last, containing a number of
questions which you desire us to answer; this we do the more readily as we
desire with all our hearts the prosperity of Zion, and the peace of her
inhabitants; for we have as great an interest in the welfare of Zion, as
you can have.
First, as respects getting the Book of Commandments bound, we think
it is not necessary. They will be sold well without binding, and there is
no bookbinder to be had that we know of, nor are there materials to be had
for binding, without keeping the books too long from circulation.
With regard to the copies of the Book of Mormon, which are in the
hands of Brother Burkett, we say to you, get them from Brother
Burkett, and give him a receipt for them in the name of the Literary
Firm. Let Brother Gilbert pay Brother Chapin his money.
We have not found the Book of Jasher, nor any other of the lost books
mentioned in the Bible as yet; nor will we obtain them at present.
Respecting the Apocrypha, the Lord said to us that there were many things
in it which were true, and there were many things in it which were not
true, and to those who desire it, should be given by the Spirit to know
the true from the false.
We have received some revelations within a short time back, which you
will obtain in due season. As soon as we can get time, we will review the
manuscripts of the Book of Mormon, after which they will be forwarded to
you.
We commend the plan highly of your choosing a teacher to instruct the
High Priests, that they may be able to silence gainsayers. Concerning
Bishops, we recommend the following; Let Brother Isaac Morley be ordained
second Bishop in Zion, and let Brother John Corrill be ordained third.
Let Brother Edward Partridge choose as counselors in their place,
Brother Parley P. Pratt and Brother Titus Billings, ordaining Brother
Billings to the High Priesthood.
Let Brother Morley choose for his counselors, Brother Christian
Whitmer, whom ordain to the High Priesthood, and Brother Newel Knight. Let
Brother Corrill choose Brother Daniel Stanton and Brother Hezekiah Peck,
for his counselors; let Brother Hezekiah also, be ordained to the High
Priesthood.
Zombre [John Johnson] has been received as a member of the firm, by
commandment, and has just come to Kirtland to live; as soon as we get a
power of attorney signed agreeably to law, for Alam [Edward Partridge] we
will forward it to him, and will immediately expect one from that part of
the firm to Ahashdah [Newel K. Whitney], signed in the same manner. We
would again say to Alam [Edward Partridge], be sure to get a form
according to law for securing a gift. We have found by examining the law,
that a gift cannot be retained without this.
The truth triumphs gloriously in the east; multitudes are embracing
it. I, Sidney, who write this letter in behalf of the Presidency, had the
privilege of seeing my aged mother baptized into the faith of the Gospel,
a few weeks since, at the advanced age of seventy-five. She now resides
with me.
We send by this mail, a draft of the city of Zion, with explanations,
and a draft of the house to be built immediately in Zion, for the
Presidency, as well as for all purposes of religion and instruction.
Kirtland, the stake of Zion, is strengthening continually. When the
enemies look at her they wag their heads and march along. We anticipate
the day when the enemies will have fled away and be far from us.
You will remember that the power of agency must be signed by the
wives as well as the husbands, and the wives must be examined in the
matter separate and apart from the husbands, the same as signing a deed,
and a specification to that effect inserted at the bottom, by the justice
before whom such acknowledgment is made, otherwise the power of attorney
will be of none effect.
Should you not understand the explanations sent with the drafts, you
will inform us, so that you may have a proper understanding, for it is
meet that all things should be done according to the pattern.
We have found the following errors in the Commandments as printed:
fortieth chapter, tenth verse, third line, instead of "corruptable," put
corrupted. Fourteenth verse of the same chapter, fifth line, instead of
"respecter to persons," put respecter of persons. Twenty-first verse,
second line of the same chapter, instead of "respecter to," put respecter
of. Forty-fourth chapter, twelfth verse, last line, instead of "hands,"
put heads.
ITEMS OF INSTRUCTION CONCERNING THE CONSECRATION OF PROPERTY.
Brother Edward Partridge:
SIR:--I proceed to answer your questions, concerning the consecration
of property.--First, it is not right to condescend to very great
particulars in taking inventories. The fact is this, a man is bound by the
law of the Church, to consecrate to the Bishop before he can be considered
a legal heir to the kingdom of Zion; and this, too, without constraint;
and unless he does this, he cannot be acknowledged before the Lord on the
Church Book therefore, to condescend to particulars, I will tell you that
every man must be his own judge how much he should receive and how much he
should suffer to remain in the hands of the Bishop. I speak of those who
consecrate more than they need for the support of themselves and their
families.
The matter of consecration must be done by the mutual consent of both
parties; for to give the Bishop power to say how much every man shall
have, and he be obliged to comply with the Bishop's judgment, is giving to
the Bishop more power than a king has; and upon the other hand, to let
every man say how much he needs, and the Bishop be obliged to comply with
his judgment, is to throw Zion into confusion, and make a slave of the
Bishop. The fact is, there must be a balance or equilibrium of power,
between the Bishop and the people, and thus harmony and good will may be
preserved among you.
Therefore, those persons consecrating property to the Bishop in
Zion, and then receiving an inheritance back, must reasonably show to
the Bishop that they need as much as they claim. But in case the two
parties cannot come to a mutual agreement, the Bishop is to have nothing
to do about receiving such consecrations, and the case must be laid before
a council of twelve High Priests, the Bishop not being one of the council,
but he is to lay the case before them.
Say to Brother Gilbert that we have no means in our power to assist
him in a pecuniary way, as we know not the hour when we shall be sued for
debts which we have contracted ourselves in New York. Say to him that he
must exert himself to the utmost to obtain means himself, to replenish his
store, for it must be replenished, and it is his duty to attend to it.
We were not a little surprised to hear that some of our letters of a
public nature, which we sent for the good of Zion, have been kept back
from the Bishops. This is conduct which we highly disapprobate.
ANSWERS TO QUERIES TO BROTHER PHELPS' LETTER OF JUNE 4TH.
First, in relation to the poor: When the Bishops are appointed
according to our recommendation, it will devolve upon them to see to the
poor, according to the laws of the Church.
In regard to the printing of the New Translation; It cannot be done
until we can attend to it ourselves, and this we will do as soon as the
Lord permits.
As to Shederlaomach, [F. G. Williams], all members of the United Firm
are considered one. The order of the Literary Firm is a matter of
stewardship, which is of the greatest importance; and the mercantile
establishment God commanded to be devoted to the support thereof, and God
will bring every transgression unto judgment.
Say to the brothers Hulet and to all others, that the Lord never
authorized them to say that the devil, his angels or the sons of
perdition, should ever be restored; for their fate of destiny was not
revealed to man, is not revealed, nor ever shall be revealed, save to
those who are made partakers thereof; consequently those who teach this
doctrine have not received it of the Spirit of the Lord. Truly Brother
Oliver declared it to be the doctrine of devils. We therefore command that
this doctrine be taught no more in Zion. We sanction the decision of the
Bishop and his council, in relation to this doctrine being a bar to
communion.
The number of disciples in Kirtland is about one hundred and fifty.
We have commenced building the house of the Lord, in this place, and it
goes on rapidly. Good news from the east and south of the success of the
laborers is often saluting our ears. It is a general time of health among
us; families all well, and day and night we pray for the salvation of
Zion.
We deliver Brother Ziba Peterson over to the buffetings of Satan, in
the name of the Lord, that he may learn not to transgress the commandments
of God. We conclude our letter by the usual salutation, in token of the
new and everlasting covenant. We hasten to close, because the mail is just
going. JOSEPH SMITH, JUN., SIDNEY RIGDON, F. G. WILLIAMS.
P. S.--We feel gratified with the way in which Brother William W.
Phelps is conducting the Star at present, we hope he will seek to
render it more and more interesting. In relation to the size of
Bishoprics: When Zion is once properly regulated there will be a Bishop
to each square of the size of the one we send you with this; but at
present it must be done according to wisdom. It is needful, brethren, that
you should be all of one heart, and of one mind, in doing the will of the
Lord.
There should exist the greatest freedom and familiarity among the
rulers in Zion.
We were exceedingly sorry to hear the complaint that was made in
Brother Edward Partridge's letter, that the letters attending the Olive
Leaf had been kept from him as it is meet that he should know all things
in relation to Zion, as the Lord has appointed him to be a judge in Zion.
We hope, dear brethren, that the like occurrence will not take place
again. When we direct letters to Zion to any of the High Priests which
pertain to the regulation of her affairs, we always design that they
should be laid before the Bishop, so as to enable him to perform his duty.
We say so much, hoping it will be received in kindness, and our brethren
will be careful of one anothers' feelings, and walk in love, honoring one
another more than themselves, as is required by the Lord. Yours as ever,
J. S., S. R., F. G. W.
A SECOND COMMUNICATION TO THE BRETHREN IN ZION.
KIRTLAND, July 2nd, 1833.
To the Brethren in Zion: We received your letters of June 7th: one
from Brothers William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery; one from Brother David
Whitmer; and one from Brother Sidney Gilbert, for which we are thankful to
our Heavenly Father, as also to hear of your welfare, and the prosperity
of Zion. Having received your letters in the mail of today, we hasten to
answer, in order that our reply may go with tomorrow's mail.
We are exceedingly fatigued, owing to a great press of business. We
this day finished the translating of the Scriptures, for which we returned
gratitude to our Heavenly Father, and sat immediately down to answer your
letters. We rejoiced greatly to hear of the safe arrival of Sister Vienna
Jaques and Brother William Hobert, and thank our Heavenly Father that
their lives have been spared them till their arrival. The health of the
brethren and sisters in Kirtland is good at present; no case of sickness
known to us. Brother Joseph C. Kingsbury's wife is declining fast, and
cannot continue much longer, but will soon be in the paradise of God.
We are engaged in writing a letter to Eugene respecting the two
Smiths, as we have received two letters from them; one from John Smith,
the other from the Elder of the Church. As to the gift of tongues, all we
can say is, that in this place, we have received it as the ancients did;
we wish you, however, to be careful lest in this you be deceived. Guard
against evils which may arise from any accounts given by women, or
otherwise; be careful in all things lest any root of bitterness spring up
among you, and thereby many be defiled. Satan will no doubt trouble you
about the gift of tongues, unless you are careful; you cannot watch him
too closely, nor pray too much. May the Lord give you wisdom in all
things. In a letter mailed last week, you will doubtless, before you
receive this, have obtained information about the New Translation. Consign
the box of the Book of Commandments to N. K. Whitney Co., Kirtland,
Geauga, county, Ohio, care of Kelly and Walworth, Cleveland, Cuyahoga
county, Ohio.
I, Sidney, write this in great haste, in answer to yours to Brother
Joseph, as I am going off immediately, in company with Brother Frederick
to proclaim the Gospel--we think of starting tomorrow. Having finished the
translation of the Bible, a few hours since, and needing some recreation,
we know of one way we can spend our time more to divine acceptance than in
endeavoring to build up His Zion in these last days, as we are not willing
to idle any time away which can be spent to useful purposes. Doors are
opening continually for proclaiming the Gospel. The spirit of bitterness
among the people is fast subsiding, and a spirit of inquiry is taking its
place. I preached last Sunday at Chardon, our county seat; I had the court
house; there was a general turn-out, good attention, and a pressing
invitation for more meetings, which will be granted, if the Lord will,
when we return from this tour.
Brother Joseph is going to take a tour with Brother George James, of
Brownhelm, as soon as Brother George comes to this place. We hope, our
brethren, that the greatest freedom and frankness will exist between you
and the Bishop, not withholding from one another any information from us,
but communicating with the greatest freedom, lest you should produce evils
of a serious character, and the Lord become offended; for know assuredly,
if we, by our wickedness, bring evil on our own heads, the Lord will let
us bear it till we get weary and hate iniquity. Brother Frederick wants
you to say to Brother Burke, that the man from whom he expected to get the
mill stones, has run off, so he will not be able to get them; but Brother
Burke can get them of the same man's make, in St. Louis.
We conclude by giving our heartiest approbation to every measure
calculated for the spread of the truth, in these last days; and our
strongest desires and sincerest prayers for the prosperity of Zion. Say to
all the brethren and sisters in Zion, that they have our hearts, our best
wishes and the strongest desires of our spirits for their welfare,
temporal, spiritual, and eternal. As ever, we salute you in the name of
the Lord Jesus. Amen. SIDNEY RIGDON, JOSEPH SMITH, JUN., F. G. WILLIAMS.
CORRESPONDENCE OVER TROUBLES IN THE EUGENE BRANCH OF THE CHURCH.
KIRTLAND, July 2nd, 1833.
Brother John Smith:
We have just received your letter, of the 8th of June, which seems to
have been written in a spirit of justification on your part. You will
recollect that previous to your leaving this place, you were tried before
the Bishop's court, which found you guilty of misdemeanor, and decided
that you should no longer retain your authority in the Church; all of
which we, as Presidents of the High Priesthood, sanction. You name
something in your letter, that took place at Brother Olney's in
Shalersville, on the 27th and 28th of August, which we perfectly
recollect, and had you made such confession as you were required to, at
Chippeway, all things would have worked together for your good, and as I
told you; but you did not manifest that degree of humility to the brethren
that was required, but remained obstinate; for that reason God withdrew
His Spirit from you, and left you in darkness. In your letter you say many
hard things against the brethren, especially against Father Joseph Smith.
Brother Reynolds Cahoon, and Bishop Whitney, all of which we highly
disapprove. It seems also that your son Eden is confederate with you, and
needs to be reproved, together with yourself, in all humility before the
Lord, or you must expect to be dealt with according to the laws of the
Church. We say you are no more than a private member in the Church. JOSEPH
SMITH, JUN., F. G. WILLIAMS PRESIDENTS
KIRTLAND, July 2nd, 1833.
To The Church at Eugene:
DEAR BRETHREN:--It is truly painful to be under the necessity of
writing on a subject which engages our attention at this time, viz; the
case of John Smith, and Eden Smith, his son. We have just received a
letter from you concerning their standing in the Church. We do not hold
them in fellowship. We would inform you that John Smith has been dealt
with, and his authority taken from him, and you are required not to
receive his teachings, but to treat him as a transgressor, until he
repents and humbles himself before the Lord, to the entire satisfaction of
the Church; and also, you have authority to call a conference, and sit in
judgment on Eden's case, and deal with him as the law directs.
We feel to rebuke the Elders of that branch of the Church of Christ,
for not magnifying their office, and letting the transgressor go
unpunished. We, therefore, enjoin upon you, to be watchful on your part,
and search out iniquity, and put it down wherever it may be found. You
will see by this, brethren, that you have authority to sit in council on
the Smiths; and if found guilty, to deal with them accordingly. We have
this day directed a letter to John Smith, thereby making known to him our
disapprobation of the course he has pursued. We commend you to God and His
grace, ever praying He will keep and preserve you blameless till He come.
JOSEPH SMITH, JUN., SIDNEY RIGDON, F. G. WILLIAMS.
Postscript by Bishop Whitney, same date:
DEAR BRETHREN:--Yours of the 3rd of June came safe to hand the last
mail, and John Smith's, which was directed to Brother Joseph. Now, my
brethren, on this sheet you have Brother Joseph's sanction to my
proceedings, and the letter I last wrote you, and you will govern
yourselves accordingly, for you have full power and authority to call the
two brothers Smith to an account for their conduct; and, unless they
repent and make satisfaction, not only to your branch of the Church, but
also to this branch, they must be cut off from the body; for under
existing circumstances, we have no fellowship with them. Brother John
Smith's authority, as an officer in the Church, was taken from him before
he left, and he ought to have given up his license; but he went away
without doing so, and it seems he has made use of it to impose upon you.
As to the two sisters you spoke of in your last, if there is no testimony
on either side, all you can do is to forbid them to partake of the
Sacrament unworthily; and pray much, and God will bring all things to
light. N. K. WHITNEY, Bishop.
CHAPTER XXVII.
PREPARATIONS OF THE MOB IN JACKSON COUNTY TO RESORT TO VIOLENCE--
IMPORTANT EXCERPTS FROM THE STAR.
JULY, which once dawned upon the virtue and independence of the
United States, now dawned upon the savage barbarity and mobocracy of
Missouri. Most of the clergy acting as missionaries to the Indians, or to
the frontier inhabitants, were among the most prominent characters, that
rose up and rushed on to destroy the rights of the Church, as well as the
lives of her members. One Reverend Pixley, who had been sent by the
Missionary
Society to civilize and Christianize the heathen of the west, was a
black rod in the hands of Satan; as well as a poisoned shaft in the hands
of our other foes. He wrote horrible falsehoods about the Saints which he
sent to the religious papers in the East, from time to time, in order to
sour the public mind against them; and used his influence among both
Indians and whites to overthrow the Church in Jackson county. On the first
of July, he wrote a slanderous tract entitled, "Beware of False Prophets,"
which he carried from house to house, to incense the inhabitants against
the Church, to mob them, and drive them away. The July number of The
Evening and Morning Star, pursued a mild and pacific course; the first
article therein, entitled, "Beware of False Prophets," was calculated to
disabuse the honest public mind from Pixley's falsehoods; and the caution
against "Free People of Color," settling in Missouri, was sufficient to
silence the fears of every sober mind, yet, it was all in vain; the hour
of trial must come: notwithstanding the constitution of Missouri--as
published in the same paper--says:
Article 4th. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to
worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences;
and that no man can be compelled to erect, support, or attend any place of
worship, or to maintain any minister of the Gospel, or teacher of
religion; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights
of conscience; that no person can ever be hurt, molested, or restrained in
his religious professions, or sentiments, if he do not disturb others in
their religious worship.
5th. That no person, on account of his religious opinions, can be
rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit under this state;
that no preference can ever be given by law, to any sect or mode of
worship.
Yet, because the Saints in spiritual things believed and taught
differently from their neighbors--although both the faith and the
teachings of the Saints were according to the laws of heaven--the mob drew
up and published the following manifesto:
THE MANIFESTO OF THE MOB. We, the undersigned, citizens of Jackson
county, believing that an important crisis is at hand, as regards our
civil society, in consequence of a pretended religious sect of people that
have settled, and are still settling in our county, styling themselves
"Mormons;" and intending, as we do, to rid our society, "peaceably if we
can, forcibly if we must," and believing as we do, that the arm of the
civil law does not afford us a guarantee, or at least a sufficient one,
against the evils which are now inflicted upon us, and seem to be
increasing, by the said religious sect, deem it expedient, and of the
highest importance, to form ourselves into a company for the better and
easier accomplishment of our purpose--a purpose which we deem it almost
superfluous to say, is justified as well by the law of nature, as by the
law of self-preservation.
It is more than two years since the first of these fanatics, or
knaves, (for one or the other they undoubtedly are) made their first
appearance amongst us, and pretended as they did, and now do, to hold
personal communication and converse face to face with the Most High God;
to receive communications and revelations direct from heaven; to heal the
sick by laying on hands; and, in short, to perform all the wonder-working
miracles wrought by the inspired Apostles and Prophets of old.
We believed them deluded fanatics, or weak and designing knaves and
that they and their pretensions would soon pass away; but in this we were
deceived. The arts of a few designing leaders amongst them have thus far
succeeded in holding them together as a society; and since the arrival of
the first of them, they have been daily increasing in numbers; and if they
had been respectable citizens in society and thus deluded, they would have
been entitled to our pity rather than to our contempt and hatred; but from
their appearance, from their manners, and from their conduct since their
coming among us, we have every reason to fear that, with but very few
exceptions, they were of the very dregs of that society from which they
came, lazy, idle, and vicious. This we conceive is not idle assertion, but
a fact susceptible of proof, for with these few exceptions above named,
they brought into our country little or no property with them and left
less behind them, and we infer that those only yoke themselves to the
"Mormon" car who had nothing earthly or heavenly to lose by the change;
and we fear that if some of the leaders amongst them, had paid the forfeit
due to crime, instead of being chosen ambassadors of the Most High, they
would have been inmates of solitary cells. But their conduct here stamps
their characters in their true colors. More than a year since, it was
ascertained that they had been tampering with our slaves, and endeavoring
to sow dissensions and raise seditions amongst them. Of this their
"Mormon" leaders were informed, and they said they would deal with any of
their members who should again in like case offend. But how spacious are
appearances. In a late number of the Star, published in Independence by
the leaders of the sect, there is an article inviting free negroes and
mulattoes from other states to become "Mormons," and remove and settle
among us. This exhibits them in still more odious colors. It manifests a
desire on the part of their society, to inflict on our society an injury
that they know would be to us entirely insupportable, and one of the
surest means of driving us from the country; for it would require none of
the supernatural gifts that they pretend to, to see that the introduction
of such a caste amongst us would corrupt our blacks, and instigate them to
bloodshed.
They openly blaspheme the Most High God, and cast contempt on
His holy religion, by pretending to receive revelations direct from
heaven, by pretending to speak unknown tongues, by direct inspiration, and
by divers pretenses derogatory to God and religion, and to the utter
subversion of human reason.
They declare openly that their God hath given them this county of
land, and that sooner or later they must and will have possession of our
lands for an inheritance; and, in fine, they have conducted themselves on
many other occasions, in such a manner, that we believe it a duty we owe
to ourselves, our wives, and children, to the cause of public morals, to
remove them from among us, as we are not prepared to give up our pleasant
places and goodly possessions to them or to receive into the bosom of our
families, as fit companions for our wives and daughters, the degraded and
corrupted free negroes and mulattoes that are now invited to settle among
us.
Under such a state of things, even our beautiful county would cease
to be a desirable residence, and our situation intolerable. We, therefore,
agree that after timely warning, and receiving an adequate compensation
for what little property they cannot take with them, they refuse to leave
us in peace, as they found us--we agree to use such means as may be
sufficient to remove them, and to that end we each pledge to each other
our bodily powers, our lives, fortunes and sacred honors.
We will meet at the court house, at the town of Independence, on
Saturday next, the 20th inst., [July], to consult on subsequent movements.
Among the hundreds of names attached to the above document were:
Lewis Franklin, jailor; Samuel C. Owens, county clerk; Russel Hicks,
deputy county clerk; R. W. Cummins, Indian agent; James H. Flournoy,
postmaster; S. D. Lucas, colonel and judge of the court; Henry Chiles,
attorney-at-law; N. K. Olmstead, M. D.; John Smith, justice of the peace;
Samuel Weston, justice of the peace; William Brown, constable; Abner F.
Staples, captain; Thomas Pitcher, deputy constable; Moses G. Wilson and
Thomas Wilson, merchants.
FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
To prevent any misunderstanding among the churches abroad,
respecting free people of color, who may think of coming to the western
boundaries of Missouri, as members of the Church, we quote the following
clauses from the laws of Missouri:
"Section 4.--Be it further enacted, that hereafter no free negro or
mulatto, other than a citizen of someone of the United States shall come
into or settle in this state under any pretext whatever; and upon
complaint made to any justice of the peace, that such person is in his
county, contrary to the provisions of this section, if it shall appear
that such person is a free negro or mulatto, and that he hath come into
this state after the passage of this act, and such person shall not
produce a certificate, attested by the seal of some court of record in
someone of the United States, evidencing that he is a citizen of such
state, the justice shall command him forthwith to depart from this state;
and in case such negro or mulatto shall not depart from the state within
thirty days after being commanded so to do as aforesaid, any justice of
the peace, upon complaint thereof to him made may cause such person to be
brought before him and may commit him to the common goal of the county in
which he may be found, until the next term of the circuit court to be held
in such county. And the said court shall cause such person to be brought
before them and examine into the cause of commitment; and if it shall
appear that such person came into the state contrary to the provisions of
this act, and continued therein after being commanded to depart as
aforesaid, such court may sentence such person to receive ten lashes on
his or her bare back, and order him to depart the state; and if he or she
shall not depart, the same proceedings shall be had and punishment
inflicted, as often as may be necessary, until such person shall depart
the state.
"Sec. 5.--Be it further enacted, that if any person shall, after the
taking effect of this act, bring into this state any free negro or
mulatto, not having in his possession a certificate of citizenship as
required by this act, (he or she) shall forfeit any pay for every person
so brought, the sum of five hundred dollars, to be recovered by action of
debt in the name of the state, to the use of the university, in any court
having competent jurisdiction; in which action the defendant may be held
to bail, of right and without affidavit; and it shall be the duty of the
attorney general or circuit attorney of the district in which any person
so offending may be found, immediately upon information given of such
offenses to commence and prosecute an action as aforesaid."
Slaves are real estate in this and other states, and wisdom would
dictate great care among the branches of the Church of Christ on this
subject. So long as we have no special rule in the Church, as to people of
color, let prudence guide, and while they, as well as we, are in the hands
of a merciful God, we say: Shun every appearance of evil.
"THE EVENING AND MORNING STAR" EXTRA.
July 16, 1833.
Having learned with extreme regret, that an article entitled, "Free
People of Color," in the last number of the Star, has been misunderstood,
we feel in duty bound to state, in this Extra, that our intention was not
only to stop free people of color from emigrating to this state, but to
prevent them from being admitted as members of the Church.
On the second column of the one hundred and eleventh page of the same
paper, may be found this paragraph:--"Our brethren will find an extract of
the law of this state, relative to free people of color, on another page
of this paper. Great care should be taken on this point. The Saints must
shun every appearance of evil. As to slaves, we have nothing to say; in
connection with the wonderful events of this age much is doing towards
abolishing slavery, and colonizing the blacks in Africa.
We often lament the situation of our sister states in the south, and
we fear, lest, as has been the case, the blacks should rise and spill
innocent blood, for they are ignorant, and a little may lead them to
disturb the peace of society. To be short, we are opposed to having free
people of color admitted into the state; and we say, that none will be
admitted into the Church; for we are determined to obey the laws and
constitutions of our country, that we may have that protection which the
sons of liberty inherit from the legacy of Washington, through the
favorable auspices of a Jefferson and Jackson.
The Elders Stationed in Zion, to the Churches Abroad, in Love
Greeting: (From The Evening and Morning Star, July number.)
DEAR BRETHREN:--One year having passed since we addressed the
churches abroad, on the situation of Zion and the state of the gathering
it seems to be our duty to again address the Saints on the same subjects.
Although you frequently learn through the medium of the Star our situation
and progress, yet we indulge a hope, that a circular from us, particularly
setting these things forth at this time, will be received by you in
fellowship. We have abundant reason to thank the Lord for His goodness and
mercy manifested unto us, since we were planted in this land. With the
exception of the winter season, the gathering has continued slowly. At
present we have not the exact number of the disciples; but suppose that
there are near seven hundred,--include with these their children and those
who belong to families, and the number will probably amount to more than
twelve hundred souls. Many have been planted upon their inheritances,
where, blessed with a fruitful soil, and a healthy climate, they are
beginning to enjoy some of the comforts of life.
This in connection with peace and satisfaction of pure and undefiled
religion; which is to visit the widow and fatherless in their afflictions
and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, brings down the blessings
of peace and love from our Father, and confirms our faith in the promise,
that we shall see Him in the flesh, when He comes to be glorified in His
Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day.
Here let us remark, that our duty urges us to notice a few letters
which have been sent from this place, by persons seeking the loaves and
fishes, or by such as have lost their standing among men of character in
the world. In the letters alluded to, are some facts; but most of the
statements are false. It is said that women go out to work; this is a
fact, and not only women, but men, too; for in the Church of Christ, all
that are able have to work to fulfil the commandments of the Lord; and the
situation in which many have come up here, has brought them under the
necessity of seeking employment from those who do not belong to the
Church. Yet, we can say as far as our knowledge extends, that they have
been honorably compensated. And we are willing to decree concerning
mankind, Thou shalt eat thy bread by the sweat of thy brow, should be
fulfilled. Members of the Church have, or will have, "deeds" [to their
lands] in their own name.
One Bates, from New London, Ohio--who subscribed fifty dollars for
the purpose of purchasing lands, and the necessaries for the Saints--after
his arrival here, sued (Bishop) Edward Partridge, and obtained a judgment
for the same. Bates shortly after denied the faith and ran away on Sunday,
leaving debts unpaid. We do not mention this to cast reflection, but to
give a sample of his work manifested since he came to this land. No man
that has consecrated property to the
Lord, for the benefit of the poor and the needy, by a deed of gift
according to the laws of the land, has thought of suing for it, any more
than the men of the world, who give, or donate to build meeting houses,
and colleges; or send missionaries to India or the Cape of Good Hope.
Every Saint that has come to this land to escape the desolations which
await the wicked, and prepare for the coming of the Lord, is well
satisfied with the country, and the order of the kingdom of our God; and
we are happy to say that the inhabitants of Zion are growing in grace and
in the knowledge of those things which lead to peace and eternal glory.
And our hearts are filled with thanksgiving for the privilege of bearing
this testimony concerning our brethren on this land. One object in writing
this epistle is, to give some instructions to those who come up to the
land of Zion. Through a mistaken idea many of the brethren abroad, that
had property, have given some away, and sacrificed some, they hardly know
how. This is not right nor according to the commandments. We would advise
in the first place, that every disciple, if in his power, pay his just
debts so as to owe no man, and then if he has any property left, let him
be careful of it; and he can help the poor, by consecrating some for their
inheritances; for as yet, there has not been enough consecrated to plant
the poor in inheritances, according to the regulation of the Church and
the desire of the faithful.
This might have been done, had such as had property been prudent. It
seems as though a notion was prevalent in Babylon, that the Church of
Christ was a common stock concern. This ought not so to be, for it is not
the case. When a disciple comes to Zion for an inheritance, it is his
duty, if he has anything to consecrate to the Lord for the benefit of the
poor and needy, or to purchase lands, to consecrate it according to the
law of the Lord, and also according to the law of the land, and the Lord
has said, that in keeping his laws we have no need to break the laws of
the land; and we have abundant reason to be thankful, that we are
permitted to establish ourselves under the protection of a government that
knows no exceptions to sect or society, but gives all its citizens the
privilege of worshiping God according to their own desire. Again, while in
the world, it is not the duty of a disciple to exhaust all his means in
bringing the poor to Zion, and this because if all should do so, there
would be nothing to put in the storehouse in Zion for the purpose which
the Lord has commanded.
Do not think, brethren, by this, that we would advise or direct that
the poor be neglected in the least; this is not the desire of our hearts';
for we are mindful of the word of our Father, which informs us that in His
bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall possess
it.
The welfare of the poor has always a place in our hearts; yet we are
confident that our experience, even had we nothing else to prompt us to
advise on this point, and that wholly for the good of the cause in which
we labor, would be sufficient in the minds of our brethren abroad, to
excuse a plainness on this important part of our subject. To see numbers
of disciples come to this land, destitute of means to procure an
inheritance, and much less the necessaries of life, awakens a sympathy in
our bosoms of no ordinary feeling; and we should do injustice to the
Saints were we to remain silent, when perhaps, a few words, by way of
advice, may be the means of instructing them, that hereafter great
difficulties may be avoided. For the disciples to suppose that they can
come to this land without ought to eat, or to drink, or to wear, or
anything to purchase these necessaries with, is a vain thought. For them
to suppose that the Lord will open the windows of heaven, and rain down
angel's food for them by the way, when their whole journey lies through a
fertile country, stored with the blessings of life from His own hand for
them to subsist upon, is also vain. For them to suppose that their clothes
and shoes will not wear out upon the journey, when the whole of it lies
through a country where there are thousands of sheep from which wool in
abundance can be procured to make them garments, and cattle upon a
thousand hills, to afford leather for shoes, is just as vain.
The circumstances of the Saints in gathering to the land of Zion in
these last days are very different from those of the children of Israel,
after they despised the promised rest of the Lord, after they were brought
out of the land of Egypt. Previous to that, the Lord promised them, if
they would obey His voice and keep His commandments, that He would send
the hornet before them, and drive out those nations which then inhabited
the promised land, so that they might have peaceable possession of the
same, without the shedding of blood. But in consequence of their unbelief
and rebellion, they were compelled to obtain it by the sword, with the
sacrifice of many lives.
But to suppose we can come up here and take possession of this land
by the shedding of blood, would be setting at naught the law of the
glorious Gospel and also the word of our great Redeemer, and to suppose we
can take possession of this country without making regular purchases of
the same, according to the laws of our nation, would be reproaching this
great republic, in which the most of us were born, and under whose
auspices we all have protection.
We feel as though enough was said on this point, knowing that a word
to the wise is sufficient; and that all our brethren are aware of the
fact, that all the tithes cannot be gathered into the storehouse of the
Lord, that the windows of heaven may be opened, and a blessing be poured
out that there is not room enough to contain it, if all the means of the
Saints are exhausted, before they reach the place where they can have the
privilege of so doing. Do not conclude from these remarks, brethren, that
we doubt in the least, that the Lord will provide for His Saints in these
last days; or think that we would extend our hands to steady the ark; for
this is not the case. We know that the Saints have the unchangeable word
of God that they shall be provided for; yet we know, if any are imprudent,
or lavish, or negligent, or indolent, in taking that proper care, and
making that proper use of what the Lord has made them stewards over, they
are not counted wise; for a strict account of every one's stewardship is
required, not only in time, but will be in eternity. Neither do we
apprehend that we shall be considered putting out our hands to steady the
ark of God by giving advice to our brethren upon important points relative
to their coming to Zion, when the experience of almost two years'
gathering, has taught us to revere that sacred word from heaven, "Let not
your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you."
Then, brethren, we would advise, that where there are many poor in a
church, that the Elders counsel together, and make preparations to send a
part at one time, and a part at another. And let the poor rejoice in that
they are exalted, but the rich in that they are made low, for there is no
respect of persons in the sight of the Lord.
The disciples of Christ, blessed with immediate revelations from Him,
should be wise and not take the way of the world, nor build air-castles,
but consider that when they have been gathered to Zion, means will be
needed to purchase their inheritances, and means will be needed to
purchase food and raiment for at least one year; or at any rate, food; and
where disciples, or churches, are blessed with means to do as much as
this, they would be better off in Zion than in the world, troubled as it
is, and will shortly be, with plagues, famines, pestilences, and utter
destruction upon the ungodly.
On the subject of false reports, which are put in circulation by
evil-minded men, to ridicule the idea of the gathering of Israel in these
last days, we would say to our brethren abroad, believe them not; The
Evening and Morning Star was established expressly to publish the truth,
and the word of the Lord, that the Saints might not be deceived, by such
as make broad the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms
at feasts; yea, by such as bind heavy burdens which are grievous to be
borne, and lay them upon men's shoulders but will not move them with one
of their fingers. Yea, we give this caution that the disciples may not
give heed to the gainsaying of those who seek the honor of this world and
the glory of the same, rather than seek the honor of God and His glory;
nor those who have turned away from the Church of Christ, and denied the
faith delivered to His Saints in these last days.
Brethren, the Lord has begun to gather His children, even Israel,
that they may prepare to enter into and enjoy His rest when He comes in
His glory, and He will do it. No matter what your ideas or notions may be
upon the subject; no matter what foolish reports the wicked may circulate
to gratify an evil disposition, the Lord will continue to gather the
righteous, and destroy the wicked, till the sound goes forth--it is
finished.
It ought to be known abroad that much improvement is needed in the
cattle, sheep, and hogs in this part of the country. As cows here are
worth from ten to fifteen dollars, our brethren would do well, and we
would advise them, to purchase before they arrive in this region. In fact,
if they journey according to the commandments of the Lord, pitching their
tents by the way, like Israel in days of old, it would be no more than
right to drive cows enough to supply every family or company with milk on
the way. They would then have them when they arrived here, and if they
selected of the best breeds, they would lay a foundation for improvement.
A thing of which all our brethren who are acquainted with raising stock
will at once see the propriety.
The sheep of this state are large, but as their wool is coarse, the
breed would soon be improved if our brethren would drive with them some
merinos or saxons. As soon as wool and flax are had among the brethren,
sufficient for the purpose, they will manufacture cloth for their own use
in the Church. The swine in this country are not good, being the old
fashioned shack breed, and much inferior to the large, white grass breed
of the eastern states. If any could introduce this breed, what little pork
might be wanted in the winter, would be much better, and easier raised.
It is a matter of much surprise to us, that our brethren should come
up to the land of Zion, as many do, without bringing garden seeds, and
even seeds of all kinds. The Jaredites and Nephites took with them of all
kinds; and the Jaredites, all kinds of animals. And although the Lord has
said that it was His business to provide for His Saints, yet He has not
said that He would do it, unless they kept His commandments.
And notwithstanding the fulness of the earth is for the Saints, they
can never expect it unless they use the means put into their hands to
obtain the same in the manner provided by our Lord. When you flee to Zion,
we enjoin the word, prepare all things, that you may be ready to labor for
a living, for the Lord has promised to take the curse off the land of Zion
in His own due time, and the willing and the obedient, not the idle, will
eat the good of the same; for they are to be had in remembrance before the
Lord.
One very important requisition for the Saints that come up to the
land of Zion is, that before they start, they procure a certificate from
three Elders of the Church, or from the Bishop in Ohio, according to the
commandments; and when they arrive, to present it to the Bishop in Zion;
otherwise they are not considered wise stewards, and cannot be received
into fellowship with the Church, till they prove themselves by their own
goodness.
Some of our brethren may think, at the first instant, perhaps, that
this is useless and formal, but a few reflections will be sufficient for
them to see the propriety of it, and more especially, when they learn that
it is a commandment given us of the Lord.
On another page of this paper, our brethren will find an extract of
the law of this state relative to free people of color. Great care should
be taken on this point. The Saints must shun every appearance of evil. As
to slaves, we have nothing to say. In connection with the wonderful events
of this age, much is doing towards abolishing slavery, and colonizing the
blacks in Africa.
The foregoing remarks have been addressed to our brethren abroad,
considered as one general body, and have been designed as general
information to all. We cannot close this epistle, compatible with our
duty, without particularly addressing ourselves to our brethren, the
Elders to whom is entrusted the preaching of the everlasting Gospel,--the
glad tidings of salvation to Israel, and to all the Gentiles if they will
listen to the invitation.
Brethren, we are aware of your many afflictions, or at least in part,
some of us having been eye witnesses to the things of God and having been
called to bear testimony of the same from the first, since this Gospel has
been proclaimed in these last days. The desire of our hearts for your
prosperity we can truly say is inexpressible, for when you are prospered,
we are, and when you are blessed we are blessed also. The affliction which
you are necessarily called to undergo in these days of tribulation and
vengeance upon the wicked, call forth from our hearts unceasing prayers to
our common parents in your behalf, that you may be enabled to deliver His
message in the demonstration of His Spirit, and call together His elect
from the ends of the earth, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
even to Mount Zion.
By those few expressions, you will see brethren, how important we
view your calling. We do not consider that it is our duty to direct you in
your missions; but we will give you in few words what we have reason to
expect relative to the gathering of the Saints, according to the
revelations of the Lord.
By the authority of your calling and ordination, you, no doubt, will
admit that it will be expected that you know your duty, and at all times
and in all places, teach the disciples theirs; but we are sorry to say,
that in some instances, some of our brethren have failed to do so.
We will remind our brethren of a clause in the covenants, which
informs us that all who are ordained in this Church, are to be ordained
according to the gifts and callings of God unto them, by the power of the
Holy Ghost which is in the one who ordains them. We would also remind them
of one valuable caution recorded in Paul's first letter to Timothy, which
says, "Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's
sins." Those cautions, however, are particularly addressed to our young
brethren in the ministry. We know that many of our brethren are wise in
these important parts of their labors, and have rid their garments of the
blood of this generation, and are approved before the Lord. We will
proceed further, brethren, to notice some particular items immediately
connected with your duties, and what, as we said before, we have reason to
expect from you, according to the revelations. In one given December 4th,
1831, we learn that it is the duty of the Elders of the Church in the East
to render an account of their stewardship unto the Bishop appointed unto
the Church in that part of the Lord's vineyard.
The Lord says, "And now, verily I say unto you, that as every Elder
in this part of the vineyard, (the East) must give an account of his
stewardship unto the Bishop in this part of the vineyard a certificate
from the judge or Bishop in this part of the vineyard, unto the Bishop in
Zion, rendereth every man acceptable, and answereth all things for an
inheritance, and to be received as a wise steward, and as a faithful
laborer; otherwise he shall not be accepted of the Bishop in Zion.
"And now, verily I say unto you, let every Elder who shall give an
account unto the Bishop of the Church, in this part of the vineyard, (the
East) be recommended by the church or churches, in which he labors, that
he may render himself and his accounts approved in all things.
We hope brethren, that you will be particular to teach the disciples
abroad prudence and economy in all things. Teach them in plainness, that
without regular recommends, they cannot be received in fellowship with the
Church in Zion, until after they have proven themselves worthy by their
godly walk. And those who are recommended by you, we expect will be such
as are personally known to you to be disciples indeed, and worthy the
confidence of all Saints.
Viewing the quotation relative to your obtaining a certificate from
the Bishop in the East concerning your worthiness, you cannot blame us
brethren if we are strict on this point. It may be understood, therefore,
by our brethren, the Elders, who come from the East and do not bring a
regular certificate showing that their labors have been accepted there,
that they cannot be accepted in Zion. We do not set ourselves up as judges
in this; we have only a desire to see the order of our Redeemer's kingdom
observed in all things; for His commandments are precious with us, we have
them in our hands, and they are sacred to our hearts.
Our brethren who labor in the churches a distance to the west of the
residence of the Bishop in the East, who do not render their accounts to
him, should be particular to bring recommends from the churches in which
they do labor, and present them with the accounts of their labors to the
Bishop immediately after their arrival here. And those Elders who labor
continually in preaching the Gospel to the world, should also be
particular to render their account of the same, that they may show
themselves approved in all things, and be known to be worthy of the high
office in which they stand in the Church of Christ.
Having said considerable concerning those particular points which are
necessary to be observed by our brethren who journey to this land, and
also a few words to the Elders, we deem it a privilege before we conclude,
to say something more to the Church at large. In the previous remarks,
however, we presume our brethren may make many improvements; and perhaps
discover some errors; if so, we can say that the best of motives has
prompted us to write to our brethren and if some small errors are to be
found, we are certain that the general ideas are correct, and will be a
means of doing good, if those who are immediately interested in the same,
give heed to them.
Dear brethren in the New Covenant, accept this as a token for a
salutation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, from your brethren in
Zion. While we are permitted to witness the great things which are
continually taking place in fulfilment of the prophecies concerning the
last days, as the children of God are gathered home to prepare themselves
for the supper of the Lamb, our language that is, the English tongue,
fails to express our joy.
EXTRACTS FROM THE ELDERS' LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE "EVENING
AND MORNING STAR." JULY NUMBER.
PALMYRA, MISSOURI May 16th, 1833.
The Lord is opening the eyes of the blind, and blessing our labors.
We have baptized eighteen members in this settlement. G. M. HINKLE, ELISHA
H. GROVES.
SIX MILES PROM QUINCY, Mo., June 3, 1833.
Every few days there are some honest souls born into the kingdom of
God. Persecution rages to a considerable extent. It seems as if every
denomination, sect, party, and club, were prepared to fight against the
work of the Lord. A man has just told me that in Palmyra, in forty-eight
hours, the cholera had taken forty-seven to their graves. The disease is
in the country as well as the town, and carries off all ages, colors and
conditions, sparing none. GEORGE M. HINKLE.
CHENANGO POINT, N. Y., May 16, 1833.
Dear Brothers:--It is about six weeks since I left Kirtland to take a
mission to the East; since which time I have visited twelve churches and
passed three others in coming to this place; all of which are nearly in
the course from Kirtland to Chenango, N. Y.; so grows, and so spreads the
mighty work of the Lord. Some of said churches are composed of nearly one
hundred members; and in nearly all of them, the work is still going on. O,
may the Lord cause His glorious voice to be heard, until error and
superstition shall give way to the everlasting Gospel of Jesus. I feel
much weakness as a man, but in the strength of Christ, I am resolved to
blow the trumpet of the Gospel until the people of God are delivered from
the merchants and traffickers of souls unto the glorious liberty of the
Gospel. I have baptized four since I left Kirtland. As for myself I
intend, if possible, to attend the school at the latter Jerusalem, to
which I am confident it is my privilege to go, as often as the old
Apostles went to the former Jerusalem.
I have traveled about five hundred miles in about six weeks, and held
fifteen meetings, and I trust that I shall continue to receive the grace
of God to support me even to the end. SYLVESTER SMITH.
STATE OF THE WORLD.
(From the July Star.)
The flood of waters, occasioned by the great rains in the eastern and
middle states, did immense damage; war between Turkey and Russia continued
to rage; and the epidemic disease of London continued its frightful
ravages; so terrible were its effects as to close all the principal places
of amusement and suspend the court of reform for the metropolis.
July 13.--Elder Brigham Young having returned from his mission to
Canada, accompanied by some twenty or thirty of the brethren, a council of
Elders assembled in Kirtland. There were present at the council Gideon H.
Carter,
Jacob Wood, Dennis Lake, Brigham Young, James Lake, Newel K. Whitney,
John Smith, Luke S. Johnson and myself. Elder James Lake desired to know
the will of the Lord, whether he should proceed on to Zion, or remain in
Kirtland, It was decided that he should remain in Kirtland.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MOB VIOLENCE IN THE LAND OF ZION.
ON the 20th of July, the mob collected, and demanded the
discontinuance of the Church printing establishment in Jackson county, the
closing of the store, and the cessation of all mechanical labors. The
brethren refused compliance, and the consequence was that the house of W.
W. Phelps, which contained the printing establishment, was thrown down,
the materials taken possession of by the mob, many papers destroyed, and
the family and furniture thrown out of doors.
The mob then proceeded to violence towards Edward Partridge, the
Bishop of the Church, as he relates in his autobiography:
I was taken from my house by the mob, George Simpson being their
leader, who escorted me about half a mile, to the court house, on the
public square in Independence; and then and there, a few rods from said
court house, surrounded by hundreds of the mob, I was stripped of my hat,
coat and vest and daubed with tar from head to foot, and then had a
quantity of feathers put upon me; and all this because I
would not agree to leave the county, and my home where I had lived
two years.
Before tarring and feathering me I was permitted to speak. I told
them that the Saints had suffered persecution in all ages of the world;
that I had done nothing which ought to offend anyone; that if they abused
me, they would abuse an innocent person; that I was willing to suffer for
the sake of Christ; but, to leave the country, I was not then willing to
consent to it. By this time the multitude made so much noise that I could
not be heard; some were cursing and swearing, saying, "call upon your
Jesus," etc.; others were equally noisy in trying to still the rest, that
they might be enabled to hear what I was saying.
Until after I had spoken, I knew not what they intended to do with
me, whether to kill me, to whip me, or what else I knew not. I bore my
abuse with so much resignation and meekness, that it appeared to astound
the multitude, who permitted me to retire in silence, many looking very
solemn, their sympathies having been touched as I thought; and as to
myself, I was so filled with the Spirit and love of God, that I had no
hatred towards my persecutors or anyone else.
Charles Allen was next stripped and tarred and feathered, because he
would not agree to leave the county, or deny the Book of Mormon. Others
were brought up to be served likewise or whipped.
But from some cause the mob ceased operations, and adjourned until
Tuesday, the 23rd. Elder Sidney Gilbert, the keeper of the store, agreed
to close it; and that may have been one reason why the work of destruction
was suddenly stopped for two days.
In the course of this day's wicked, outrageous, and unlawful
proceedings, many solemn realities of human degradation, as well as
thrilling incidents were presented to the Saints. An armed and well
organized mob, in a government professing to be governed by law, with the
Lieutenant Governor (Lilburn W. Boggs), the second officer in the state,
calmly looking on, and secretly aiding every movement, saying to the
Saints, "You now know what our Jackson boys can do, and you must leave the
county;" and all the justices, judges, constables, sheriffs, and military
officers, headed by such western missionaries and clergymen as the
Reverends McCoy, Kavanaugh, Hunter, Fitzhugh, Pixley, Likens, and
Lovelady, consisting of Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and all the
different sects of religionists that inhabited that country, with that
great moral reformer, and register of the land office at Lexington, forty
miles east, known as the head and father of the Cumberland Presbyterians,
even the Reverend Finis Ewing, publicly publishing that "Mormons were the
common enemies of mankind, and ought to be destroyed"--all these solemn
realities were enough to melt the heart of a savage; while there was not a
solitary offense on record, or proof, that a Saint had broken the law of
the land.
When Bishop Partridge, who was without guile, and Elder Charles
Allen, walked off, coated like some unnamed, unknown bipeds, one of the
sisters cried aloud: "While you, who have done this wicked deed, must
suffer the vengeance of God, they, having endured persecution, can
rejoice, for henceforth for them, is laid up a crown eternal in the
heavens."
Surely this was a time for awful reflection; man, unrestrained, like
the brute beast, may torment the body; but God will punish the soul!
After the mob had retired, and while evening was spreading her dark
mantle over the scene, as if to hide it from the gaze of day, men, women,
and children, who had been driven or frightened from their homes, by yells
and threats, began to return from their hiding places in thickets,
corn-fields, woods, and groves, and view with heavy hearts the scene of
desolation and wo: and while they mourned over fallen man, they rejoiced
with joy unspeakable that they were accounted worthy to suffer in the
glorious cause of their Divine Master. There lay the printing office a
heap of ruins; Elder Phelps's furniture strewed over the garden as common
plunder; the revelations, book works, papers, and press in the hands of
the mob, as the booty of highway robbers; there was Bishop Partridge, in
the midst of his family, with a few friends, endeavoring to scrape off the
tar which, from its eating his flesh, seemed to have been prepared with
lime, pearl-ash, acid, or some flesh-eating substance, to destroy him; and
there was Charles Allen in the same awful condition. The heart sickens at
the recital, how much more at the picture! More than once, those people,
in this boasted land of liberty, were brought into jeopardy, and
threatened with expulsion or death, because they desired to worship God
according to the revelations of heaven, the constitution of their country,
and the dictates of their own consciences. Oh, liberty, how art thou
fallen! Alas, clergymen, where is your charity!
Early in the morning of the 23rd of July, the mob again assembled,
armed with weapons of war, and bearing a red flag; whereupon the Elders,
led by the Spirit of God, and in order to save time, and stop the effusion
of blood, entered into a treaty with the mob, to leave the county within a
certain time. The treaty was as follows:
Memorandum of agreement between the undersigned of the Mormon Society
in Jackson County, Missouri, and a committee appointed by a public meeting
of the citizens of said county, made on the 23rd day of July, 1833.
It is understood that the undersigned members of the society, do give
their solemn pledges, each for himself, as follows, to-wit;--
That Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps, William M'Lellin, Edward
Partridge, Lyman Wight, Simeon Carter, Peter and John Whitmer, and Harvey
H. Whitlock shall remove with their families out of this county on or
before the first day of January next, and that they, as well as the two
hereinafter named, use all their influence to induce all the brethren now
here to remove as soon as possible: one half, say, by the first of January
next, and all by the first day of April next; to advise and try all means
in their power to stop any more of their sect from moving to this county;
and as to those now on the road, they will use their influence to prevent
their settling permanently in the county, but that they shall only make
arrangements for temporary shelter, till a new location is agreed on for
the society. John Corrill and Algernon Sidney Gilbert, are allowed to
remain as general agents to wind up the business of the society, so long
as necessity shall require; and said Gilbert may sell out his merchandise
now on hand, but is to make no new importation.
The Star is not again to be published nor a press set up by any of
the society in this county.
If the said Edward Partridge and W. W. Phelps move their families by
the first day of January, as aforesaid, that they themselves will be
allowed to go and come, in order to transact and wind up their business.
The committee pledge themselves to use all their influence to prevent
any violence being used, so long as a compliance with the foregoing terms
is observed by the parties concerned, to which agreement is subscribed the
names of the above named committee, as also those of the Mormon brethren
named in the report as having been present.
Which report of the committee was unanimously adopted by the meeting,
and thereupon the meeting adjourned sine die. RICHARD SIMPSON, Chairman.
S. D. LUCAS, J. H. FLOURNOY, Secretaries.
The execution of this treaty presented an opportunity for the
brethren in Zion to confer with the Presidency of the Church in Ohio
concerning their situation, which they improved two or three days later by
sending Elder Oliver Cowdery as a special messenger to Kirtland.
On the second day of August, the Western Monitor, printed at
Fayette, Missouri, edited by Weston F. Birch, published the proceedings
of the mob as follows:
MORMONISM.
At a meeting of the citizens of Jackson county, Missouri, called for
the purpose of adopting measures to rid themselves of the sect of
fanatics, called Mormons, held at Independence on the 20th day of July,
1833,--which meeting was composed of gentlemen from every part of the
county, there being present between four and five hundred persons: the
meeting was organized by calling Colonel Richard Simpson to the chair and
appointing James H. Flournoy and Colonel Samuel D. Lucas, secretaries.--it
was resolved, that a committee of seven be appointed to report an address
to the public, in relation to the object of this meeting; and the chair
named the following gentlemen to wit: Russel Hicks, Esq., Robert Johnson,
Henry Chiles, Esq., Colonel James Hambright, Thomas Hudspeth, Joel F.
Chiles and James M. Hunter. The meeting then adjourned, and convened
again, when
Robert Johnson, the chairman of the said committee, submitted for the
consideration of the meeting, the following address:
"This meeting, professing to act, not from the excitement of the
moment, but under a deep and abiding conviction, that the occasion is one
that calls for cool deliberation, as well as energetic action, deem it
proper to lay before the public an expose of our peculiar situation, in
regard to this singular sect of pretended Christians; and a solemn
declaration of our unalterable determination to amend it.
"The evil is one that no one could have foreseen, and is therefore
unprovided for by the laws; and the delays incident to legislation would
put the mischief beyond remedy.
"But little more than two years ago, some two or three of these
people made their appearance on the Upper Missouri, and they now number
some twelve hundred souls in this county; and each successive autumn and
spring pours forth its swarms among us, with a gradual falling of the
character of those who compose them; until it seems that those communities
from which they come, were flooding us with the very dregs of their
composition. Elevated, as they mostly are, but little above the condition
of our blacks, either in regard to property or education; they have become
a subject of much anxiety on that part, serious and well grounded
complaints having been already made of their corrupting influence on our
slaves.
"We are daily told, and not by the ignorant alone, but by all classes
of them, that we, (the Gentiles) of this county are to be cut off, and our
lands appropriated by them for inheritances. Whether this is to be
accomplished by the hand of the destroying angel, the judgments of God, or
the arm of power, they are not fully agreed among themselves.
"Some recent remarks in the Evening and Morning Star, their organ in
this place, by their tendency to moderate such hopes, and repress such
desires, show plainly that many of this deluded and infatuated people have
been taught to believe that our lands were to be won from us by the sword.
From this same Star we learn that for want of more honest or commendable
employment, many of their society are now preaching through the states of
New York, Ohio, and Illinois; and that their numbers are increased beyond
every rational calculation; all of whom are required as soon as convenient
to come up to Zion, which name they have thought proper to confer on our
little village. Most of those who have already come, are characterized by
the profoundest ignorance, the grossest superstition, and the most abject
poverty.
"Indeed, it is a subject of regret by the Star itself, that they have
come not only unable to buy an inheritance, which means some fifteen acres
of wild land for each family, but destitute of the means of procuring
bread and meat. When we reflect on the extensive field in which the sect
is operating, and that there exists in every country a leaven of
superstition that embraces with avidity, notions the most extravagant and
unheard of, and that whatever can be gleaned by them from the purlieus of
vice, and the abodes of ignorance, is to be cast like a waif into our
social circle it requires no gift of prophecy to tell that the day is not
far distant when the civil government of the county will be in their
hands; when the sheriff, the justices, and the county judges will be
Mormons, or persons wishing to court their favor from motives of interest
or ambition.
"What would be the fate of our lives and property, in the hands of
jurors and witnesses, who do not blush to declare, and would not upon
occasion hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles, and have been
the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures, have converse with God
and His angels, and possess and exercise the gifts of divination and of
unknown tongues, and fired with the prospect of obtaining inheritances
without money and without price--may be better imagined than described.
"One of the means resorted to by them, in order to drive us to
emigrate, is an indirect invitation to the free brethren of color in
Illinois, to come up like the rest, to the land of Zion. True, they say
this was not intended to invite, but to prevent their emigration; but this
weak attempt to quiet our apprehension, is but a poor compliment to our
understanding. The article alluded to, contained an extract from our laws,
and all necessary directions and cautions to be observed by colored
brethren, to enable them upon their arrival here, to claim and exercise
the rights of citizenship. Contemporaneous with the appearance of this
article, was the expectation among the brethren here, that a considerable
number of this degraded caste were only awaiting this information before
they should set out on their journey. With the corrupting influence of
these on our slaves, and the stench, both physical and moral, that their
introduction would set afloat in our social atmosphere, and the vexation
that would attend the civil rule of these fanatics, it would require
neither a visit from the destroying angel, nor the judgments of an
offended God, to render our situation here insupportable. True, it may be
said, and truly no doubt, that the fate has marked the rise and fall of
Johanna Southcote and Ann Lee, will also attend the progress of Joe Smith;
but this is no opiate to our fears, for when the fabric falls, the rubbish
will remain.
"Of their pretended revelations from heaven--their personal
intercourse with God and His angels--the maladies they pretend to heal by
the laying on of hands--and the contemptible gibberish with which they
habitually profane the Sabbath, and which they dignify with the
appellation of unknown tongues, we have nothing to say; vengeance belongs
to God alone. But as to the other matters set forth in this paper we feel
called on by every consideration of self-preservation, good society,
public morals and the fair prospects, that if not blasted in the germ,
await this young and beautiful county, at once to declare, and we do
hereby most solemnly declare;--
" `1--That no Mormon shall in future move and settle in this county.
" `2--That those now here, who shall give a definite pledge of their
intention, within a reasonable time to remove out of the county, shall be
allowed to remain unmolested until they have sufficient time to sell their
property, and close their business, without any material sacrifice.
" `3--That the editor of the Star be required forthwith to close his
office, and discontinue the business of printing in this county; and as to
all other stores and shops belonging to the sect, their owners must in
every case strictly comply with the terms of the second article of this
declaration; and upon failure prompt and efficient measures will be taken
to close the same.
" `4--That the Mormon leaders here, are required to use their
influence in preventing any further emigration of their distant brethren
to this county, and to counsel and advise their brethren here to comply
with the above requisitions.
" `5--That those who fail to comply with these requisitions, be
referred to those of their brethren who have the gifts of divination, and
of unknown tongues, to inform them of the lot that awaits them.'
"Which address being read and considered, was unanimously adopted.
And thereupon it was resolved that a committee of twelve be appointed
forthwith to wait on the Mormon leaders, and see that the foregoing
requisitions are strictly complied with by them; and upon their refusal,
that said committee do, as the organ of this county, inform them that it
is our unwavering purpose and fixed determination, after the fullest
consideration of all the consequences and responsibilities under which we
act, to use such means as shall insure their full and complete adoption
and that said committee, so far as may be within their power, report to
this present meeting. And the following gentlemen were named as said
committee;--
"Robert Johnson, James Campbell, Colonel Moses Wilson, Joel F.
Chiles, Hon. Richard Fristoe, Abner F. Staples, Garr Johnson, Lewis
Franklin, Russell Hicks, Esq., Colonel S. D. Lucas, Thomas Wilson and
James M. Hunter, to whom was added Colonel R. Simpson, chairman.
And after an adjournment of two hours, the meeting again convened,
and the committee of twelve reported that they had called on Mr. Phelps,
the editor of the Star; Edward Partridge, the Bishop of the sect;
and Mr. Gilbert, the keeper of the Lord's store house; and some
others; and that they declined giving any direct answer to the
requisitions made of them, and wished an unreasonable time for
consultation, not only with their brethren here, but in Ohio.
"Whereupon it was unanimously resolved by the meeting, that the Star
printing office should be razed to the ground, the type and press secured.
Which resolution was, with the utmost order, and the least noise and
disturbance possible, forthwith carried into execution, as also some other
steps of a similar tendency; but no blood was spilled, nor any blows
inflicted. The meeting then adjourned till the 23rd instant, to meet again
to know further concerning the determination of the Mormons.
"Resolved, that a copy of these proceedings be posted up at the post
office in this place, for the information of all concerned; and that the
secretaries of this meeting send copies of the same to the principal
editors in the eastern and middle states for publication; that the Mormon
brethren may know at a distance that the gates of Zion are closed against
them--that their interests will be best promoted by remaining among those
who know and appreciate their merits." RICHARD SIMPSON, Chairman, S. D.
LUCAS, J. H. FLOURNOY, Secretaries.
The citizens' meeting again convened on the 23rd day of July, 1833,
which was composed of gentlemen from all parts of the county, and much
more unanimously attended than the meeting of the 20th instant.
The meeting was organized by the chairman taking his seat, when the
following gentlemen were appointed a committee, to wit:--
Henry Chiles, Esq., Dr. N. K. Olmstead, H. L. Brazile, Esq.,
Zachariah Waller, Samuel Weston. Esq., William L. Irwin, Leonidas Oldham,
S. C. Owens, Esq., George Simpson, Captain Benjamin Majors, James C.
Sadler, Colonel William Bowerg, Henry Younger, Russell Hicks, Esq., Aaron
Overton, John Harris, and Harmon Gregg, to wait upon the Mormon leaders,
who had intimated a wish to have a conference with said committee.
After an adjournment of two hours, the meeting again convened, when
the committee reported to the meeting that they had waited on most of the
Mormon leaders, consisting of the Bishop, Mr. Partridge; Mr. Phelps,
Editor of the Star; Mr. Gilbert, the keeper of the Lord's store house, and
Messrs, Corrill, Whitmer, and Morley, Elders of the Church; and that the
said committee had entered into an amicable agreement with them, which
they had reduced to writing, which they submitted: and that the committee
have assured Mr. Phelps, that when ever he was ready to move, that the
amount of all his loses should be paid to him by the citizens. The written
agreement is as follows:
The foregoing is copied entire to give one sample of hypocritical
bombast, and current falsehoods, with which the country was flooded in the
early days of this Church. The declaration of the mob, by which they
pledged to each other their lives, their bodily powers, fortunes, and
sacred honors to remove the Church from Jackson county, is a very good
climax for all the arguments used, falsehoods hoods set forth, and even a
full interpretation of the sublime admission that "vengeance belongs to
God alone." The events that followed from this time till November, explain
the modus operandi much more clearly than the publication in the Monitor,
or other papers that generally were so willing to give the western
missionaries, the doctors, lawyers, judges, justices, sheriffs,
constables, military officers and other distinguished personages a fair
chance against the Mormons.
On the same day (July 23rd), while the brethren in Missouri were
preparing to leave the county, through the violence of the mob, the corner
stones of the Lord's House were laid in Kirtland, after the order of the
Holy Priesthood.
August 2.--I received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my
voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will
concerning your brethren in the land of Zion, many of whom are truly
humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.
2. Verily, verily I say unto you, blessed are such, for they shall
obtain; for I, the Lord, show mercy unto all the meek, and upon all
whomsoever I will, that I may be justified when I shall bring them unto
judgment.
3. Behold, I say unto you, concerning the school in Zion, I, the
Lord, am well pleased that there should be a school in Zion, and also with
my servant Parley P. Pratt, for he abideth in me.
4. And inasmuch as he continueth to abide in me he shall continue to
preside over the school in the land of Zion until I shall give unto him
other commandments.
5. And I will bless him with a multiplicity of blessings, in
expounding all scriptures and mysteries to the edification of the school,
and of the church in Zion.
6. And to the residue of the school, I, the Lord, am willing to show
mercy; nevertheless, there are those that must needs be chastened, and
their works shall be made known.
7. The ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that
bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.
I, the Lord, have spoken it.
8. Verily I say unto you all among them who know their hearts are
honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to
observe their covenants by sacrifice--yea, every sacrifice which I, the
Lord, shall command--they are accepted of me.
9. For I, the Lord will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful
tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth
much precious fruit.
10. Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be
built unto me in the land of Zion like unto the pattern which I have given
you.
11. Yea, let it be built speedily, by the tithing of my people.
12. Behold, this is the tithing and the sacrifice which I, the Lord,
require at their hands, that there may be a house built unto me for the
salvation of Zion--
13. For a place of thanksgiving for all saints, and for a place of
instruction for all those who are called to the work of the ministry in
all their several callings and offices;
14. That they may be perfected in the understanding of their
ministry, in theory, in principle, and in doctrine, in all things
pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth, the keys of which kingdom
have been conferred upon you.
15. And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of
the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be
not defiled my glory shall rest upon it;
16. Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and
all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.
17. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall
not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples.
18. And, now, behold, if Zion do these things she shall prosper, and
spread herself and become very glorious, very great, and very terrible.
19. And the nations of the earth shall honor her, and shall say:
Surely Zion is the city of our God, and surely Zion cannot fall, neither
be moved out of her place, for God is there, and the hand of the Lord is
there;
20. And he hath sworn by the power of his might to be her salvation
and her high tower.
21. Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for
this is Zion--THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all
the wicked shall mourn.
22. For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as
the whirlwind; and who shall escape it?
23. The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day and the
report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the
Lord come;
24. For the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their
abominations and all their wicked works.
25. Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things
whatsoever I have commanded her.
26. But if she observe not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I
will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with
pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire.
27. Nevertheless, let it be read this once to her ears, that I, the
Lord, have accepted of her offering; and if she sin no more none of these
things shall come upon her;
28. And I will bless her with blessings, and multiply a multiplicity
of blessings upon her, and upon her generations forever and ever, saith
the Lord your God. Amen.
August 6th.--I received the following:
Revelation.
1. Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be
comforted; yea rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
2. Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and
testament--the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
3. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable
covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have
been afflicted shall work together for your good and to my name's glory,
saith the Lord.
4. And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it
is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I
command them.
5. And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that
principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all
mankind, and is justifiable before me.
6. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my
church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the
land;
7. And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than
this cometh of evil.
8. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and
the law also maketh you free.
9. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
10. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for
diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold,
otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.
11. And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil
and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which
proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
12. For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon
precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.
13. And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake,
shall find it again, even life eternal.
14. Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in
my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things whether you
will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.
15. For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.
16. Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently
to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the
fathers to the children;
17. And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the
prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a
curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.
18. Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father's house are
many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father
and I am, there ye shall be also.
19. Behold, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with many who are in the
church at Kirtland;
20. For they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the
pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable
things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have
given unto them.
21. Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will chasten them and
will do whatsoever I list, if they do not repent and observe all things
whatsoever I have said unto them.
22. And again I say unto you, if ye observe to do whatsoever I
command you, I the Lord, will turn away all wrath and indignation from
you, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
23. Now, I speak unto you concerning your families--if men will smite
you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not
against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded;
24. But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you
as being meted out as a just measure unto you.
25. And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you
revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be
an hundredfold.
26. And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it
patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;
27. And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he
repent not, and shall not be blotted out.
28. And now, verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my
vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall
see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you,
neither upon your family, even your children's children unto the third and
fourth generation.
29. And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your
children's children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered
thine enemy into thine hands;
30. And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy
righteousness, and also thy children and thy children's children unto the
third and fourth generation.
31. Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou
rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought
thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands
and thou art justified.
32. Behold, this is the law I gave unto my servant Nephi, and thy
fathers, Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient
prophets and apostles.
33. And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that
they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or
people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.
34. And if any nation, tongue, or people should proclaim war against
them, they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation,
or tongue;
35. And if that people did not accept the offering of peace, neither
the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before
the Lord;
36. Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify
them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people.
37. And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children's
battles, and their children's children, until they had avenged themselves
on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.
38. Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your
God, for justification before me.
39. And again, verily I say unto you, if after thine enemy has come
upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy
forgiveness, thou shalt forgive him, and shalt hold it no more as a
testimony against thine enemy--
40. And so on unto the second and third time; and as oft as thine
enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee,
thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven.
41. And if he trespass against thee and repent not the first time,
nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.
42. And if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not,
nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.
43. And if he trespass against thee the third time, and repent not,
thou shalt also forgive him.
44. But if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not
forgive him, but shalt bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they
shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four-fold in all
things wherewith he has trespassed against thee.
45. And if he do this, thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart;
and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an
hundred-fold;
46. And upon his children, and upon his children's children of all
them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation.
47. But if the children shall repent, or the children's children, and
turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their
might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses
wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have
trespassed, or their father's fathers, then thine indignation shall be
turned away;
48. And vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy
God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony
before the Lord against them. Amen.
CHAPTER XXIX.
MINOR EVENTS IN ZION AND KIRTLAND--AN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI.
August 21.--At a council of High Priests in Zion, Elder Christian
Whitmer was ordained to the High Priesthood. And on the 28th, the council
resolved, that no High Priest, Elder, or Priest, shall ordain any Priest,
Elder, or High Priest in the land of Zion, without the consent of a
conference of High Priests.
Soon after the arrival of Oliver Cowdery at Kirtland, arrangements
were made to dispatch Elders Orson Hyde and John Gould+ to Jackson
county, Missouri, with advice to the Saints in their unfortunate
situation, through the late outrage of the mob.
September 4.--I wrote as follows to Sister Vienna Jaques' at
Independence, Missouri:
Dear Sister:--Having a few leisure moments, I sit down to communicate
to you a few words, which I know I am under obligation to improve for your
satisfaction, if it should be a satisfaction for you to receive a few
words from your unworthy brother in Christ. I received your letter some
time since, containing a history of your journey and your safe arrival,
for which I bless the Lord; I have often felt a whispering since I
received your letter, like this: "Joseph, thou art indebted to thy God for
the offering of thy Sister Vienna, which proved a savor of life as
pertaining to thy pecuniary concerns. Therefore she should not be
forgotten of thee, for the Lord hath done this, and thou shouldst remember
her in all thy prayers and also by letter, for she oftentimes calleth on
the Lord, saying, O Lord, inspire thy servant Joseph to communicate by
letter some word to thine unworthy handmaiden, and say all my sins are
forgiven, and art thou not content with the chastisement wherewith thou
hast chastised thy handmaiden?" Yea, sister, this seems to be the
whispering of a spirit, and judge ye what spirit it is I was aware when
you left Kirtland that the Lord would chasten you, but I prayed fervently
in the name of Jesus that you might live to receive your inheritance,
agreeable to the commandment which was given concerning you. I am not at
all astonished at what has happened to you, neither to what has happened
to Zion, and I could tell all the whys and wherefores of all these
calamities. But alas, it is in vain to warn and give precepts, for all men
are naturally disposed to walk in their own paths as they are pointed out
by their own fingers and are not willing to consider and walk in the path
which is pointed out by another, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it,
although he should be an unerring director, and the Lord his God sent him.
Nevertheless, I do not feel disposed to cast any reflections, but I feel
to cry mightily unto the Lord that all things, which have happened may
work together for good; yea, I feel to say, O Lord, let Zion be comforted,
let her waste places be built up and established an hundred fold; let Thy
Saints come unto Zion out of every nation; let her be exalted to the third
heavens, and let Thy judgment be sent forth unto victory; and after this
great tribulation, let Thy blessing fall upon Thy people, and let Thy
handmaid live till her soul shall be satisfied in beholding the glory of
Zion; for notwithstanding her present affliction, she shall yet arise and
put on her beautiful garments, and be the joy and glory of the whole
earth. Therefore let your heart be comforted; live in strict obedience to
the commandments of God, and walk humbly before Him, and He will exalt
thee in His own due time. I will assure you that the Lord has respect unto
the offering you made. Brother David W. Patten has just returned from his
tour to the east, and gives us great satisfaction as to his ministry. He
has raised up a church of about eighty-three members in that part of the
country where his friends live--in the state of New York. Many were healed
through his instrumentality, several cripples were restored. As many as
twelve that were afflicted came at a time from a distance to be healed; he
and others administered in the name of Jesus, and they were made whole.
Thus you see that the laborers in the Lord's vineyard are laboring with
their might, while the day lasts, knowing "the night soon cometh when no
man can work. [Signed] JOSEPH SMITH.
September 11.--The following members, residing in Kirtland, viz.: F.
G. Williams, Sidney Rigdon, N. K. Whitney, with myself, and Oliver
Cowdery, delegate to represent the residue of the members in Independence,
Missouri, met in council, to consider the expediency of establishing a
printing press in Kirtland, when it was
Resolved, unanimously, that a press be established, and conducted
under the firm name of F. G. Williams & Co.
Resolved, that the above firm publish a paper, as soon as
arrangements can be made, entitled the Latter-day Saints Messenger and
Advocate.
Resolved, also, that The Evening and Morning Star, formerly published
in Jackson county, Missouri, by the firm of F. G. Williams & Co., to be
conducted by Oliver Cowdery, one of the members of the firm, until it is
transferred to its former location.
The same day Bishop Partridge was acknowledged by the council in
Zion, to be the head of the Church in Zion at that time; and by virtue of
his office, was acknowledged the moderator or president of the councils or
conferences.
Ten High Priests were appointed to watch over the ten branches of the
Church in Zion.
A hymn, concerning the travels, toils, troubles, and tribulations of
the Nephites, was sung in tongues by Elder W. W. Phelps, interpreted by
Elder Lyman Wight,
September 26.--The council again assembled in
Zion, and ordained Jesse Hitchcock, Elias Higbee, and Isaac Higbee,
High Priests.
Brother John Tanner+ sent his two sons to Kirtland to learn the will
of the Lord, whether he should remove to Zion or Kirtland, It was decided
by the unanimous voice of the council, on the 28th of September, that it
was the will of the Lord for all who were able and willing, to build up
and strengthen the stake in Kirtland. Brother Tanner was counseled
accordingly.
About this time, Elders Hyde and Gould arrived in Zion, and the
Church having made the necessary preparations, Elders W. W. Phelps and
Orson Hyde were dispatched to the Governor of Missouri, residing at
Jefferson City, the capital of the state, with the following:
PETITION.
September 28, 1833.
To His Excellency Daniel Dunklin, Governor of the State of Missouri:
We, the undersigned, citizens of the Republic of the United States of
America, inhabitants of the state of Missouri, and residents of Jackson
county, members of the Church of Christ, vulgarly called "Mormons,"
believing in God, and worshiping Him according to His revealed will
contained in the Holy Bible, and the fulness of the Gospel contained in
the Book of Mormon, and the revelations and commandments of God through
Jesus Christ, respectfully show;--
That we, your petitioners, having purchased lands of the United
States, and of the State of Missouri, and of the inhabitants of said
state, for the purpose of improving the same, and peaceably enjoying our
rights, privileges immunities, and religion, according to the constitution
and laws of the state and national governments, have suffered unjustly and
unlawfully in property, in person, and in reputation, as follows:--
First, in the spring of 1832, some persons, in the deadly hours of
the night, commenced stoning or brick-batting some of our houses, and
breaking in our windows, disturbing ourselves, our wives, and our
children; and also, some few days after, they called a county meeting to
consult measures to remove us, but after some confusion among themselves,
they dispersed with doing no more than threatening on that day. In the
fall of the same year, they, or some one, burned a large quantity of hay
in the stack, and soon after commenced shooting into some of our houses,
and at many times insulting with abusive language.
Secondly, about the middle of July last, yea, in fact, previous, they
commenced brick-batting our houses again, and breaking in our windows. At
this time, July 18th, the following document was in circulation: * * * *
* * *
On Saturday, the 20th of July last, according to the foregoing
document, there assembled, suddenly, in the town of Independence, at the
court house, between four and five hundred persons, who sent Robert
Johnson, James Campbell, Moses Wilson, Joel F. Chiles, Richard Bristoe,
Abner F. Staples, Garr Johnson, Lewis Franklin, Rumell Hicks, S. D. Lucas,
Thomas Wilson. James M. Hunter, and Richard Simpson to some of your
petitioners; namely, Edward Partridge, A. S. Gilbert, John Corrill, Isaac
Morley, John Whitmer, and W. W. Phelps, and demanded that we should
immediately stop the publication of the Evening and Morning Star, and
close printing in Jackson county; and that we, as Elders of said Church,
should agree to remove out of the county forthwith. We asked for three
months for consideration, They would not grant it. We asked for ten days.
They would not grant it, but said fifteen minutes was the longest, and
refused to hear any reasons. Of course the conversation broke up.
The four or five hundred persons, as a mob, then proceeded to
demolish or raze to the ground, the printing office and dwelling house of
W. W. Phelps & Co. Mrs. Phelps, with a sick infant and the rest of her
children, together with the furniture in the house, were thrown out of
doors--the press was broken, the type pied--the bookwork, furniture,
apparatus, property, etc., of the office, were principally destroyed, and
the office thrown down, whereby seven hands were thrown out of employment,
and three families left destitute of the means of subsistence.
The loss of the whole office, including the stoppage of The Evening
and Morning Star a monthly paper, and the Upper Missouri Advertiser, a
weekly paper, was about six thousand dollars, without the damages which
must result in consequence of their suspension.
The mob then proceeded to demolish the store-house and destroy the
goods of Gilbert, Whitney & Co.; but Mr. Gilbert assuring them the goods
should be packed by the 23rd inst., [July] they then stopped the
destruction of property, and proceeded to do personal violence. They took
Edward Partridge, the Bishop of the Church, from his dwelling house by
force, and a Mr. Allen, and stripping them of their coats, vests, and
hats, or causing them to do it themselves, tarred and feathered them in
the presence of the mob, before the court house. They caught other members
of the Church to serve them in like manner, but they made their escape.
With horrid yells and the most blasphemous epithets they sought for other
leading Elders, but found them not. It being late, they adjourned until
the 23rd inst.
On the 23rd inst., early in the day, the mob again assembled to the
number of about five hundred, many of them armed with rifles, dirks,
pistols, clubs and whips; one or two companies riding into town bearing
the red flag, raising again the horrid yell. They proceeded to take some
of the leading Elders by force, declaring it to be their intention to whip
them with from fifty to five hundred lashes apiece, to demolish their
dwelling houses, and let their negroes loose to go through our
plantations, and lay open our fields for the destruction of our crops.
Whereupon John Corrill, John Whitmer, W. W. Phelps, A. S. Gilbert,
Edward Partridge, and Isaac Morley, made no resistance, but offered
themselves a ransom for the Church, willing to be scourged or die, if that
would appease their anger towards the Church, but were assured by the mob,
that every man, woman, and child would be whipped or scourged, until they
were driven out of the county, as the mob declared that either they or the
"Mormons" must leave the county, or they, or the "Mormons" must die.
The mob then chose a new committee, consisting of Samuel C. Owens,
Leonidas Oldham, G. W. Simpson, M. L. Irwin, John Harris, Henry Chiles,
Harvey H. Younger, Hugh L. Brazile, N. K. Olmstead, James C. Sadler,
William Bowers, Benjamin Majors, Zachariah Waller, Harman Gregg, Aaron
Overton, and Samuel Weston, who with Edward
Partridge, Isaac Morley, John Corrill, W. W. Phelps, A. S. Gilbert,
and John Whitmer, entered into the following stipulation:--
"Memorandum of agreement between the undersigned of the Mormon
society in Jackson county, Missouri, and a committee appointed by a public
meeting of the citizens of said county, made the 23rd day of July, 1833.
"It is understood that the undersigned members of the society do give
their solemn pledge each for himself, as follows, to wit:--
"That Oliver Cowdery, W. W. Phelps, William E. M'Lellin, Edward
Partridge, Lyman Wight, Simeon Carter, Peter and John Whitmer, and Harvey
Whitlock, shall remove with their families out of this county on or before
the first day of January next; and that they, as well as the two
hereinafter named, use all their influence to induce all the brethren now
here, to remove as soon as possible--one half, say, by the first of
January next, and all by the first day of April next; to advise and try
all means in their power, to stop any more of their sect from moving to
this county, and as to those now on the road, they will use their
influence to prevent their settling permanently in the county, but that
they shall only make arrangements for temporary shelter, till a new
location is agreed on for the society. John Corrill and Algernon S.
Gilbert, are allowed to remain as general agents to wind up the business
of the society, so long as necessity shall require; and said Gilbert may
sell out his merchandise now on hand, but is to make no new importations.
"The Star is not again to be published, nor a press set up by any of
the society in this county.
"If the said Edward Partridge and W. W. Phelps move their families by
the first day of January as aforesaid, they themselves will be allowed to
go and come in order to transact and wind up their business.
The committee pledge themselves to use all their influence to prevent
any violence being used so long as a compliance with the foregoing terms
is observed by the parties concerned.
"To which agreement are subscribed the names of the above-named
committee, as also those of the Mormon brethren named in the report as
having been present."
The damages which your petitioners have sustained in consequence of
this outrage and stipulation are, at present, incalculable. A great number
of industrious inhabitants who were dependent on their labors for support,
have been thrown out of employment, and are kept so by the threatenings of
those who compose the mob. [See their resolutions as published in the
Western Monitor, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, August 2, 1833.] In estimating
the damages which have resulted from the beginning to this time from those
illegal and inhuman proceedings against your poor and persecuted
petitioners, were they to name many thousands of dollars, it would be
short of a remuneration. Most of the mechanic's shops have been closed;
two pair of blacksmith's bellows have been cut in pieces; our merchant, as
you will see by the foregoing stipulation, has been forbidden to import or
bring into the country any more goods, by which his business has been
ruined.
Soon after the above stipulation was made, some of your petitioners
proceeded to make a new location in Van Buren county on the south, but the
settlers in that county drew up an agreement among themselves to drive us
from that county, after we had commenced laboring there; they threatened
to shoot our cattle, and destroy our labor, and in fact, "the foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but we have not where to lay
our heads." We were obliged to return.
Since the stipulation was entered into, some of our houses have been
broken open, and the inmates threatened to be shot if they stirred; and
also some of our houses have been stoned or brick-batted.
Also, that since some publications have appeared in the Western
Monitor and other papers, censuring the conduct of the mob, the leaders
have begun to threaten life, declaring that if any of the Mormons
attempted tempted to seek redress by law or otherwise, for character,
person, or property, they shall die!
Now therefore, for ourselves, as members of the Church, we declare,
with the exception of poverty, which has not yet become a crime by the
laws of the land, that the crimes charged against us so far as we are
acquainted, contained in the documents above written, and those in the
proceedings of the mob, as published in the Western Monitor of August 2nd,
are not true. In relation to inviting free people of color to emigrate to
this section of country, and other matters relative to our society, see
the 109th, 110th, and 111th pages of The Evening and Morning Star, and the
Extra accompanying the same, dated July 16th, which are annexed to this
petition. Our situation is a critical one; we are located upon the western
limits of the state, and of the United States; where desperadoes can
commit outrages, and even murder, and escape in a few minutes beyond the
reach of process; where the most abandoned of all classes from almost
every state may too often pass to the Mexican states, or to the more
remote regions of the Rocky Mountains to escape the grasp of justice;
where numerous tribes of Indians, located by the General Government amid
the corrupting influence of mid-day mobs, might massacre our defenseless
women and children, with impunity.
Influenced by the precepts of our beloved Savior when we have been
smitten on the one cheek, we have turned the other also; when we have been
sued at the law, and our coat been taken, we have given them our cloak
also; when they have compelled us to go with them a mile, we have gone
with them twain; we have borne the above outrages without murmuring; but
we cannot patiently bear them any longer; according to the laws of God and
man, we have borne enough. Believing with all honorable men, that whenever
that fatal hour shall arrive that the poorest citizen's person, property,
or rights and privileges, shall be trampled upon by a lawless mob with
impunity, that moment a dagger is plunged into the heart of the
constitution, and the union must tremble! Assuring ourselves that no
republican will suffer the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech,
and the liberty of conscience, to be silenced by a mob, without raising a
helping hand to save his country from disgrace, we solicit assistance to
obtain our rights, holding ourselves amenable to the laws of our county
whenever we transgress them.
Knowing as we do, that the threats of this mob, in most cases have
been put into execution, and knowing also that every officer, civil and
military, with a very few exceptions, has pledged his life and honor to
force us from the county, dead or alive; and believing that civil process
cannot be served without the aid of the executive; and not wishing to have
the blood of our defenseless women and children to stain the land which
has once been stained by the blood of our fathers to purchase our liberty,
we appeal to the Governor for aid, asking him to raise by express
proclamation, or otherwise, a sufficient number of troops, who, with us,
may be empowered to defend our rights, that we may sue for damages for the
loss of property, for abuse, for defamation, as to ourselves, and if
advisable try for treason against the government; that the law of the land
may not be defiled, or nullified, but peace be restored to our country.
And we will ever pray.
This petition was signed by Edward Partridge and nearly all the
members of the Church in Jackson county.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE PROPHET'S MISSION TO CANADA.
October 5.--I started on a journey to the east, and to Canada, in
company with Elders Rigdon and Freeman Nickerson, and arrived the same
day at Lamb's tavern, in Ashtabula; and the day following, the Sabbath,
we arrived in Springfield, whilst the brethren were in meeting, and Elder
Rigdon spoke to the congregation. A large and attentive congregation
assembled at Brother Rudd's in the evening, to whom we bore our
testimony.+ We continued at Springfield until the 8th of October, when
we removed to Brother Roundy's at Elk Creek; and continuing our journey on
the evening of the 9th, we arrived at a tavern, and on the 10th, at
Brother Job Lewis,' in Westfield where we met the brethren according to
previous appointment, and spoke to them as the Spirit gave utterance,
greatly to their gratification.
This day, October 10th, Elder Frederick G. Williams wrote as follows
from Kirtland to the Saints in Missouri:
Dear Brethren:--It is a long time since we have received any
intelligence from you, save a letter received by Brother Elliott from
Elder John Whitmer, which informed us that he had written four letters
since Elder Oliver Cowdery left, but we have not received any of them, nor
any others from Zion, except one from Bishop Partridge, of August 13th,
and have had no information, to be depended upon, concerning the riot, and
the situation of the brethren in Zion, and considering that the enemy have
commenced intercepting our letters, I direct this to Mrs. Billings,
thinking, by so doing that you may get it. The brethren here are all
engaged in the work of the Lord, and are using every exertion in their
power for the welfare of Zion and for the promotion of the great cause of
our Redeemer. Immediately after the arrival of Oliver Cowdery we sat in
council to know what should be done. The decision of the council was, that
measures should be immediately taken to seek redress by the laws of our
country, for your grievances, accordingly two messengers were dispatched
for that purpose. (Let this suffice, for this may fall into the hands of
the enemy). We have not received any revelation for a long time (which has
been written), and none concerning the present situation of Zion; but it
has been manifested to Joseph, and communicated to me by him, that the
brethren in Zion should not sell any of their inheritances, nor move out
of the county, save those who signed the agreement to go, and if it
becomes necessary for those to move for their personal safety, let them be
directed by wisdom and seek for homes where the Lord shall open the way.
If Elder Phelps is obliged to move from that place, let him take his
family and Elder Cowdery's wife, and come to Kirtland, but not to bring
anything with him except his bedding and clothing and let Elder Gilbert
furnish him with the means to bear his expenses, but it would not be
expedient for Elder Phelps to come, provided the prospect is favorable for
a reconciliation to the extent that the Saints are not obliged to leave
the county. We can do no more for you than we are doing; but we have this
great consolation, that God will deliver Zion, and establish you upon the
land of your everlasting inheritance. Remember that this is only for the
trial of your faith, and he that overcomes and endures to the end, will be
rewarded a hundred fold in this world, and in the world to come will
receive eternal life; so, brethren, you have great reason to rejoice, for
your redemption draweth nigh.
Presidents Smith and Rigdon are absent on a mission, and we do not
expect their return until some time in November. They have gone down the
lake to Niagara, from thence they expect to go into Upper Canada, as far
as Long Point, and preach in all the most noted places on their way.
We held a council meeting this morning, on the subject of building,
etc. It was decided by the council that we should discontinue the building
of the Temple during the winter, for want of materials; and to prepare and
get all things in readiness to recommence it early in the spring. It was
also agreed that we should set the hands immediately to erect a house for
the printing office, which is to be thirty by thirty-eight feet on the
ground; the first story to be occupied for the School of the Prophets this
winter, and the upper story for the printing press.
Oliver Cowdery started for New York on the first of October for the
printing establishment, with eight hundred dollars. There will be as many
hands employed upon the house as can work, and every exertion made to get
the printing into operation, republish the Star, commencing from the last
number printed, to be conducted by Oliver Cowdery (until an opportunity
offers to transfer it again to Zion, to be conducted by W. W. Phelps &
Co., as usual), and also publish a paper under the firm-name of F. G.
Williams & Co., entitled the Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate,
which will be forwarded to subscribers for the Star by the first of
December. Oliver has written to you for the names and residences of the
subscribers for the Star, and if you have not sent them, we wish you to
send them immediately, that there may be no delay in the papers going to
subscribers as soon as they can be printed.
Bishop Whitney, also, started for New York at the same time, to
replenish his store in Kirtland, with money enough to pay all the debts of
both establishments, and expects to bring a larger supply of goods than at
any former time. Thus you see the goodness and mercy of God in providing
for His Saints. Not one week before Bishop Whitney started, the way seemed
hedged up, and ten or twelve hundred dollars was the most that he had, and
knew not where to obtain the amount he wanted; but by a remarkable
interposition of Divine Providence, he was furnished with all he wanted,
for which let us raise our hearts in gratitude to God, and praise His holy
name, that He is a present help in every time of need.
We have seen a letter, written to Sister Whitney, in Nelson, that has
a great deal to say about the gift of tongues, and the interpretation
which was given by way of prophecy, namely, "that Zion would be delivered
by judgments," and that certain ones named, would go to such and such
places among the Lamanites, and ' great things would be done by them," and
also, that two Lamanites were at a meeting, and the following prophecy was
delivered to them:--"That they were our friends and that the Lord had sent
them there and the time would soon come when they would embrace the
Gospel;" and, also, "that if we will not fight for ourselves, the Indians
will fight for us." Though all this may be true, yet, it is not needful
that it should be spoken, for it is of no service to the Saints and has a
tendency to stir up the people to anger.
No prophecy spoken in tongues should be made public, for this
reason:--Many who pretend to have the gift of interpretation are liable to
be mistaken and do not give the true interpretation of what is spoken,
therefore great care should be taken as respects this thing but if any
speak in tongues a word of exhortation, or doctrine, or the principles of
the Gospel, etc., let it be interpreted for the edification of the Church.
When you receive this letter I wish you to write immediately and
direct your letters to David Elliott, Chagrin, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and
put this mark "X" on the back of it, if you do not wish it broken open and
he will forward it to us, and you will please to name in your letter,
where and to whom we shall direct our reply and thus we may evade
interception. Yours in the bonds of love, F. G. Williams.
At this time the evil and designing circulated a report, that Zion
was to be extended as far east as Ohio, which in some degree tended to
distract the minds of the Saints, and produced a momentary indecision
about removing thither, according to the commandments; but the report was
soon corrected, and the brethren continued to remove to Zion and Kirtland.
On the 11th of October, we left Westfield, and continuing our
journey, staid that night with a man named Nash, an infidel, with whom we
reasoned, but to no purpose. On the 12th, arrived at Father Nickerson's,
at Perrysburg, New York, where I received the following revelation:
Revelation.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my friends Sidney and
Joseph, your families are well; they are in mine hands, and I will do with
them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power.
2. Therefore, follow me, and listen to the counsel which I shall give
unto you.
3. Behold, and lo, I have much people in this place, in the regions
round about; and an effectual door shall be opened in the regions round
about in this eastern land.
4. Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place;
for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls.
5. Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this
people speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall
not be confounded before men;
6. For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very
moment, what ye shall say.
7. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare
whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the
spirit of meekness, in all things.
8. And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the
Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things
whatsoever ye shall say.
9. And it is expedient in me that you, my servant Sidney, should be a
spokesman unto this people; yea, verily, I will ordain you unto this
calling, even to be a spokesman unto my servant Joseph.
10. And I will give unto him power to be mighty in testimony.
11. And I will give unto thee power to be mighty in expounding all
scriptures, that thou mayest be a spokesman unto him, and he shall be a
revelator unto thee, that thou mayest know the certainty of all things
pertaining to the things of my kingdom on the earth.
12. Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for
behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end.
13. And now I give unto you a word concerning Zion. Zion shall be
redeemed, although she is chastened for a little season.
14. Thy brethren, my servants Orson Hyde and John Gould, are in my
hands; and inasmuch as they keep my commandments they shall be saved.
15. Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall
work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the
sanctification of the church.
16. For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me
in righteousness;
17. And all that call upon the name of the Lord, and keep his
commandments, shall be saved. Even so. Amen.
On the day following (October 13th) , Elder Rigdon preached to a
large congregation, at Freeman Nickerson's, and I bore record while the
Lord gave His Spirit in a remarkable manner.
Monday, 14.--Continued our journey towards Canada, and arrived at
Lodi, where we had an appointment, and preached in the evening to a small
assembly, and made an appointment for Tuesday, the 15th, at 10 o'clock
a.m., to be in the Presbyterian meeting house. When the hour arrived, the
keeper of the house refused to open the doors, and the meeting was thus
prevented. We came immediately away, leaving the people in great
confusion, and continued our journey till Friday, the 18th, when we
arrived at the house of Freeman A. Nickerson, in Upper Canada, having
passed through a fine and well-cultivated country, after entering the
province, and having had many peculiar feelings in relation to both the
country and people. We were kindly received by Freeman A. Nickerson, who
lived at Mount Pleasant, which was near Brantford, the county seat of
Brant county.
Sunday, 20.--At 10 o'clock we met an attentive congregation at
Brantford; and the same evening a large assembly at Mount Pleasant, at Mr.
Nickerson's. The people gave good heed to the things spoken.
Tuesday, 22.--We went to the village of Colburn; and although it
snowed severely, we held a meeting by candle-light on Wednesday evening,
and were publicly opposed by a Wesleyan Methodist. He was very tumultuous,
but exhibited a great lack of reason, knowledge, and wisdom, and gave us
no opportunity to reply.
Thursday, 24.--At the house of Mr. Beman, in Colburn, whence we left
for Waterford, where we spoke to a small congregation; thence to Mount
Pleasant, and preached to a large congregation the same evening, when
Freeman A. Nickerson and his wife declared their belief in the work, and
offered themselves for baptism. Great excitement prevailed in every place
we visited.
Saturday, 26.--Preached at Mount Pleasant; the people were very
tender and inquiring.
Sunday, 27.--Preached to a large congregation at Mount Pleasant,
after which I baptized twelve, and others were deeply impressed, and
desired another meeting, which I appointed for the day following.
Monday, 28.--In the evening, we broke bread, and laid on hands for
the gift of the Holy Ghost, and for confirmation, having baptized two
more. The Spirit was given in great power to some, and peace to others.+
Tuesday, 29.--After preaching at 10 o'clock a.m., I baptized two, and
Confirmed them at the water's side. Last evening we ordained F. A.
Nickerson an Elder; and one of the sisters received the gift of tongues,
which made the Saints rejoice exceedingly.++ Tuesday, the 29th of
October, also we took our departure from Mount Pleasant, on our return to
Kirtland, and arrived at Buffalo, New York, on the 31st.
Friday, November 1.--I left Buffalo, New York, at 8 o'clock a.m., and
arrived at my house in Kirtland on Monday, the 4th, 10 a.m. and found my
family well, according to the promise of the Lord in the revelation of
October 12th, for which I felt to thank my Heavenly Father.
On the 8th of October Elders Phelps and Hyde had presented the
petition of the Saints in Jackson county to the Governor of Missouri, who
at that time gave them for an answer that the Attorney-General of the
State was absent, but promised that on his return he would inform them of
his conclusions by mail, addressed at Independence, whither the brethren
immediately returned. About the 28th of October, in pursuance of Governor
Dunklin's promise, the brethren in Zion received the following
communication from him in reply to their petition of September 28:
CITY OF JEFFERSON, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
October 19, 1833.
To Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Isaac Morley, John Corrill, A. S.
Gilbert, John Whitmer and others:
Your memorial, soliciting my interposition against violence
threatened you, and redress for injuries received by a portion of the
citizens of Jackson county has been received, and its contents duly
considered. I should think myself unworthy the confidence with which I
have been honored by my fellow-citizens, did I not promptly employ all the
means which the constitution and laws have placed at my disposal to avert
the calamities with which you are threatened.
Ours is a government of laws; to them we owe all obedience; and their
faithful administration is the best guarantee for the enjoyment of our
rights.
No citizen, nor number of citizens, have a right to take the redress
of their grievances, whether real or imaginary, into their own hands. Such
conduct strikes at the very existence of society, and subverts the
foundation on which it is based. Not being willing to persuade myself self
that any portion of the citizens of the state of Missouri are so lost to a
sense of these truths as to require the exercise of force, in order to
ensure a respect for them, after advising with the Attorney-General, and
exercising my best judgment, I would advise you to make a trial of the
efficacy of the laws. The judge of your circuit is a conservator of the
peace; if an affidavit is made before him by any of you, that your lives
are threatened, and you believe them in danger, it would be his duty to
have the offenders apprehended and bind them to keep the peace. Justices
of the peace in their respective counties, have the same authority, and it
is made their duty to exercise it. Take, then, this course:--obtain a
warrant, let it be placed in the hands of the proper officer, and the
experiment will be tested, whether the laws can be peaceably executed or
not. In the event they cannot be, and that fact is officially notified to
me, my duty will require me to take such steps as will enforce a faithful
execution of them.
With regard to the injuries you have sustained by destruction of
property, etc., the law is open to redress; I cannot permit myself to
doubt that the courts will be open to you, nor [believe] that you will
find difficulty in procuring legal advocates to sue for damages therein.
Respectfully, your obedient servant, DANIEL DUNKLIN.
W. W. Phelps, Esq., Independence, Jackson County, Mo.
Immediately on receipt of the Governor's letter, the members of the
Church generally, (though they had lain idle since the outrage in July),
began to labor as usual, and build and set in order their houses, gardens,
etc. The brethren in Zion were also busily engaged in devising means of
redress for their grievances; and having consulted with four lawyers from
Clay county, then attending court in Independence, they received from them
the following letter on the day written; which I will copy entire, that
the principles by which the lawyers of this generation are actuated may be
recorded, as well as the difficulties the Saints had to encounter in
following the Governor's instructions:
INDEPENDENCE, Oct. 30, 1833.
GENTLEMEN:--The first thing necessary to be done, under circumstances
like ours, is to ascertain and fix upon the amount of fee to be paid, and
to secure the payment thereof by the necessary papers: and then the
responsibility of advising falls upon us. We are now laboring under all
the disadvantages of an engagement without any of its advantages; it
therefore becomes us to know whether we can agree as to the fee or not;
and that we should be paid, too, according to the situation in which we
place ourselves. We have been doing a practice here among these people, to
a considerable extent, and by this engagement we must expect to lose the
greatest part of it, which will be to all of us a considerable loss;
besides that, the amount involved must be very considerable, and the
amount involved must be generally the criterion of the fee. Taking all
these matters into consideration we propose to you to bring all the suits
you may want brought, and attend to them jointly throughout, for the sum
of two hundred and fifty dollars each, making for all four, of us, the sum
of one thousand dollars.
This may seem to be a large sum for a fee for lawyers in this
country, but the circumstances here involved make it necessary. This
matter must be attended to in the first place, and then such advice, for
the present, as may seem to be dictated by wisdom, and be necessary, we
will give you; and in the proper time we will bring the suits. If this
proposal suits, you will please execute notes, and send them to us; and if
not agreed to, apprise us by letter immediately, for we can be engaged on
the opposite side in all probability. We prefer to bring your suits, as we
have been threatened by the mob, we wish to show them we disregard their
empty bravadoes. (Signed) WOOD, REESE, DONIPHAN, ATCHISON.
As a dernier ressort, the brethren accepted the foregoing
proposition, and Brothers Phelps and Partridge gave their note of one
thousand dollars, endorsed by Gilbert & Whitney. No sooner had this news
spread among the mob, than they began to congregate and prepare for
battle.
CHAPTER XXXI.
EXPULSION OF THE SAINTS FROM JACKSON COUNTY.
THURSDAY night, the 31st of October, gave the Saints in Zion abundant
proof that no pledge on the part of their enemies, written or verbal, was
longer to be regarded; for on that night, between forty and fifty persons
in number many of whom were armed with guns, proceeded against a branch of
the Church, west of the Big Blue, and unroofed and partly demolished ten
dwelling houses; and amid the shrieks and screams of the women and
children, whipped and beat in a savage and brutal manner, several of the
men: while their horrid threats frightened women and children into the
wilderness. Such of the men as could escape fled for their lives; for very
few of them had arms, neither were they organized; and they were
threatened with death if they made any resistance; such therefore as could
not escape by flight, received a pelting with stones and a beating with
guns and whips. On Friday, the first of November, women and children
sallied forth from their gloomy retreats, to contemplate with heartrending
anguish the ravages of a ruthless mob, in the lacerated and bruised bodies
of their husbands, and in the destruction of their houses, and their
furniture. Houseless and unprotected by the arm of the civil law in
Jackson county, the dreary month of November staring them in the face and
loudly proclaiming an inclement season at hand; the continual threats of
the mob that they would drive every "Mormon" from the county; and the
inability of many to move, because of their poverty, caused an anguish of
heart indescribable.
On Friday night, the 1st of November, a party of the mob proceeded to
attack a branch of the Church settled on the prairie, about twelve or
fourteen miles from the town of Independence. Two of their number were
sent in advance, as spies, viz., Robert Johnson, and ------ Harris, armed
with two guns and three pistols. They were discovered by some of the
Saints, and without the least injury being done to them, said mobber
Robert Johnson struck Parley P. Pratt over the head with the breech of his
gun, after which they were taken and detained till morning; which action,
it was believed, prevented a general attack of the mob that night.